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The 

Iron Mountain 
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AND BRANCHES REACHES 

The Ideal Hontingf and Fishing Grounds 

The Great Timber Districts 

The Valuable Mineral Deposits 

The Incomparable Fruit Lands 

The Fine Grazing: Territory 

The Broad Com and Cotton Fields 

The Cheap Farmingf Lands 

. . . and offers ... 

Limitless Opportunities for Labor and Capital 

•• '" Southeast /g' Missouri 
Arkansas and Louisiana 

5 — DflILT TR/IINJ — 5 

From St. Louis 



Double Daily Service from MEMPHIS. 

Through Cars from KANSAS CITY via the 

"WAGONER ROUTE." 



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Reached from ST. LOUIS or MEMPHIS by the 

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Copyrighted 1900, by 

H. C. TowNSEND, General Passenger Agent The Missouri Pacific Railway Co. 

and Iron Mountain Route. 



P. 

Author. 



WOODWARD & TIERNAN PRINTINO CO, ST. LOUlS. 



Ideal 

Bunting and 
Tisbing 
Grounds. 



SINCE the early explorations of the Mississippi by the adventur- 
ous La Salle, who traveled the Father of Waters from source 
to mouth, the heavily timbered low grounds along its lower 
course have been deservedly famous for a variety and profusion of 
game, unrivalled throughout the length and breadth of our country. 
Centuries have passed since powder and lead first superseded the 
Indian's arrow in its destructive work among the deer and bears of 
the great Southwest, and in this interval the bison herds of the 
plains have been literally annihilated, and the wildest recesses of 
the Rocky Mountains penetrated in search of game; but still the 
brakes of the Southern swamps guard their denizens as jealously 
as in the past — a vast and inexhaustible reservoir replenishing from 
its abundance the game supply of a thinly inhabited region two hun- 
dred miles in width and reaching from Southern Missouri to the 
waters of the Mexican Gulf. Here, sheltered by the impenetrable 
tangles of brush and briar, and secure in the solitude they love 
from the intrusive gaze of their human enemies, the graceful fawns 
gambol about their dam in fearless glee, and the mother bear teaches 
her ungainly offspring the first lessons in the school of life. Theirs 
is the unbroken solitude of a great forest — that one thing essen- 
tial to the preservation of our noblest species of big game; and, in 
the present as in the past, they enjoy an immunity from danger of 
whistling lead shared by the game of no other region, however 
remote. 

A north and south line drawn through the center of the United 
States to-day will divide the remnant of American game in almost 
equal portions. This will probably sound like an apocryphal state- 
ment to a majority of sportsmen, who have grown to consider the 

—3— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

great West as synonymous with all that is attractive to lovers of the 
rifle and choke-bore, but it is nevertheless a fact. The short-sighted 
policy of a generation of pot-hunters has swept from existence the 
large game of our prairies, and the stringent protection laws lately 
enacted by the Legislatures of States on the Pacific slope may be 
accepted as proof that California, Oregon and Washington have but 
little of fur or feather to be benefited by protection — for nature's 
gifts are never valued until they are slipping from our grasp. Even 
among the mountains of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, the rifle of 
the market gunner has been busy, and the sportsmen tourists to the 
Cour D'Alene, Big Horn and Wind river ranges are frequently forced 
to return with nothing in the way of trophies to repay them for the 
time and expense of their trip. But, brushed aside, as it were, by the 
westward progress of industrial immigration, the game of the Cen- 
tral States has sought refuge aside from the beaten track of this 
human tide, finding congenial surroundings in a region from which 
it will never be driven. In many of the Eastern States the good 
effects of rigid game protection is being felt. In localities in Maine 
and New Hampshire — and even Massachusetts — deer can be found 
in numbers where forty years ago they were totally extinct; but in 
Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, protection, until of late, has been 
scanty and grudgingly bestowed, natural causes alone deserving 
credit for the profusion of game still existing within the limits of 
those three States. The inhabitants of a backwoods region rarely 
take kindly to game protective measures, and in every legislative 
convention this conservative element is well represented, and by 
men who are prompt and vigorous in combating any bill that may 
threaten what they are pleased to call encroachment upon their 
"rights." They have grown accustomed to look upon wild game as 
the rightful property of whosoever possesses ability to secure it — 
regardless of time and season — and, rather than submit to an abate- 
ment of their self-claimed prerogatives, would connive at the utter 
annihilation of the game they claim to prize so highly. 

Perhaps, however, it would be well in this connection to trace 
another cause that has materially aided in decimating, or rather 
destroying, the big game of the West. At this period of the world's 
history very little, in any direction, can be accomplished without the 

—4— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

intervention and aid of the pen and printing press, and the killing of 
an elk or grizzly, when chronicled in the sporting journals of 
America and Europe, has naturally led tourists, emulous of like re- 
nown, to visit the scenes where those lucky chroniclers found their 
game. Much has been written in praise of the hunting grounds of 
the West, but practically nothing in regard to those adjacent to 
deep, cypress-shadowed streams of the South. The watchword of the 
hunter has ever been "Westward, Ho!" but the time is near at hand 
when, from the turbulent waters of the Big Muddy to the Pacific's 
gold-strewn sands, little will be left to tempt the pressing of trigger 
or the ignition of gunpowder. Prompted by the glowing pen-pictures 
of a Pickett or a Hallock, sportsmen, singly and in couples and trios, 
endure the tedium of journeys to Alaska and our westernmost moun- 
tains, wade icy torrents and clamber along the snow-burdened walls 
of gloomy canons, only to find at last that they are groping in mines 
long ago since robbed of their golden treasures and tracing van- 
ished sunbeams through the darkness of an endless night. 

However, it is unnecessary to resort to comparisons in order to 
describe in terms of sufficient warmth the attractions offered to 
sportsmen by the hunting grounds of Missouri, Arkansas and Louis- 
iana, contiguous to the Iron Mountain Railway and its various 
branches. All-sufficient would be the most commonplace recital by 
any one of the numerous sportsmen who have visited this region 
within the last few years. A land where the extremes of heat and 
cold are never known, snowshoes and alpenstocks alike unnecessary, 
and the comforts of camp life unalloyed by a dread of being "snowed 
in," demolished by avalanches, or smothered by sandstorms, its for- 
ests are always easy of access from the outer world, and its wildest 
regions are, at most, but a few hours removed from railway stations 
and telegraph lines. Yet, even among the more thickly settled por- 
tions of the uplands bordering the swamps, a trained deerhound will 
strike the scent of game in a few moments' search; while farther 
back from the noise and bustle of the settlements, hidden by seem- 
ingly endless forests, in which the mark of the woodman's axe is 
seldom found, all the varieties of beasts and birds originally inhabit- 
ing the locality can still be discovered in pretty much the oldtime 
profusion. This is the ideal hunting ground — the true Sportsman's 

—5— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 







On a Runway in Arkansas. 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

Paradise; for no son of Nimrod had ever need to leave it empty- 
handed, and a slightest knowledge of its manifold attractions will 
effectually wean the lover of good sports from any desire to visit 
other ranges, whatever they may offer in the way of four-footed or 
feathered game. 

Other things being equal, the gunner, when mapping out a future 
trip, will invariably give preference to the locality wherein the 
greatest variety of game can be found with the least fatigue and 
trouble; therefore the region penetrated by the Iron Mountain 
system has won a well-deserved popularity, that must become more 
general with the lapse of time. In the more broken, hilly country to 
the west of the main line of railroad, as well as throughout the low- 
land stretching eastward to the Mississippi, deer are still quite 
plentiful. By this it is not intended to imply merely that it is pos- 
sible, by careful and persistent search, to discover isolated speci- 
mens of the agile and wary Cervus Yirginianus, as is the case in 
some of the so-called game regions of the North and West. It is 
simply a plain and unvarnished statement of facts and may be 
accepted as such without reservation. The hunting region referred 
to here has never been depleted of its game and restocked like those 
of the Northeastern States; it has never been overrun, like the for- 
est ranges of other sections, by peltry-hunting Creeks and Winneba- 
goes, and the cowboys and miners of the Western Territories have 
never frightened the echoes of these grand old woods with the cease- 
less clamor of their Winchesters and revolvers. To a great extent, 
the country still remains in its original state of nature, and if it 
were possible instantly to divest Arkansas and Louisiana of their 
forest growth, the number of deer discovered would be a revelation, 
even to those accustomed to hunting in the best ranges of the ex- 
treme West. Taken collectively, the States mentioned undoubtedly 
contain more white-tail, or Virginia deer than can be found else- 
where in a similar extent of territory. 

The bear of the swamps is of the ordinary black variety, never 
dangerous to mankind unless pressed so closely that there is no pos- 
sibility of its escape through flight. Consequently the element of 
danger is lacking in their pursuit, but there are but few hunters 
so hardy that they would consider this as detracting to any extent 

—7— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

from the interest of the chase. Bears are still occasionally encoun- 
tered in the more sparsely settled mountain districts of Missouri 
and Arkansas, but their favorite haunt is in the tangles of cane, 
briars and vines, locally known as brakes, found everywhere through- 
out the swampy districts. Here they reign as supreme rulers over 
the savage solitudes, rarely disturbed by the planters and timbermen 
dwelling in the vicinity, except when they decimate the swine herds 
of the one or forage in the meager larder of the other. Their flesh 
and skins would, doubtless, lead to a destructive campaign against 
them — for bear meat is readily salable in any market; but still 
hunting Bruin is tedious work, and a bear chase with dogs gen- 
erally terminates with a rousing fight, from which, the pack, how- 
ever experienced, emerges with broken limbs and bleeding sides. 
In the early days bears were very abundant in the mountainous re- 
gions of Central and Western Arkansas, and w^re commonly hunted 
in the coldest months of winter when they were hibernating in 
caves. Provided with a torch and armed with an old flint-rock rifle, 
the hardy bear hunter would venture to Bruin's sleeping apartment, 
far in the recesses of the hills, and deliver the fatal shot at the 
shortest possible range. At present, however, bear hunting in the 
hills would be a profitless undertaking. Grown weary of unceasing 
persecution. Bruin has emigrated to a lower and far safer region, 
and now takes his long winter's sleep in the hollow of some lordly 
cypress or gum, far above the reach of the floods that inundate the 
surrounding territory. There are but few professional bear hunters, 
and of those, the majority trap more bear than they kill by legiti- 
mate hunting. 

Panthers, while not abundant, are still occasionally met, and the 
mixddy margins of forest pools are often dotted with the imprints 
of their giant paws. Wild cats, the only other representative of the 
feline race found in the region herein described, are so plentiful as 
to cause endless trouble to deer hunters, whose hounds will often 
leave the trail of their legitimate game to pursue "puss" as she 
bounds from her lair. Long experience and frequent chastising will 
render the older dogs proof against temptation, but an antipathy 
for cats is one of the most prominent traits of puppyhood. A wildcat 
is no mean antagonist when "cornered," but unless surprised, will 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

invariably seek refuge in a tree, climbing with the agility of a 
squirrel. Their tracks are common everywhere, and hunters in the 
Arkansas lowgrounds can indulge in a successful wildcat hunt al- 
most any night in the year, and are liable to stumble upon a "bob- 
tail" at almost any time while still hunting. 

Many valuable hounds have fallen victims to the gray wolves, 
whose sharp teeth and enormous size render them dangerous oppo- 
nents in a "rough and tumble" fight. But every year the wolves are 
decreasing in number, though their mournful howling will still 
frequently mar the slumber of the sportsmaa wno is unaccustomed 
to this peculiar "music of the forest." They lie by day in the very 
thickest of the undergrowth on the upland ridges, venturing forth at 
night to devour anything of flesh and blood that comes in their 
way, and will frequently catch the calves and young pigs of the 
backwoods farmer within pistol shot of his cabin. Wolves are 
rarely encountered by the still-hunter, except in the early dawn, 
and their stealth and watchfulness render them very difficult to kill. 

The wild turkey, though the wariest and hardest of approach of 
all varieties of American game, always shows a reluctance to leave 
its accustomed feeding grounds, and persistently lingers amid the 
clearings of the older-settled districts, only growing, if possible, more 
cautious and watchful as the farms grow in number and the wooden 
strips between them gradually lessen in extent. Universally dis- 
tributed over hill and bottom land alike, and, unlike the deer, afoot 
and foraging from dawn till dusk, the turkey's keenness of sight and 
hearing is a potent safeguard, and the hunter who matches his skill 
against the cunning of an old gobbler must make no false move in 
the management of his campaign. The amateur, on his first outing, 
is apt to note that, while "turkey sign" is abundant, the turkeys 
themselves are notable mainly by reason of their scarcity, but, even 
in this branch of hunting, experience and patience will earn their 
reward in the end, and in due course of time the mottled bronze 
plumage of the wild gobbler will begin to litter the ground in the 
vicinity of the camp fire. 

Quail, or partridges, are rarely included by the local gunners when 
enumerating the varieties of game to be found within the limits of 
their hunting grounds. Each field has its covey or coveys, and the 

—9— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

untilled, brush-grown ridges outside the territory subject to annual 
overflows, will amply repay inspection by wing shots who are not 
easily discouraged by rough walking and possess a fair degree of 
skill at snap-shooting in close cover. Quail inhabiting the broad 
fields of the larger plantations are generally so easy to approach that 
the charm of the sport is in a great degree lessened. The birds are 
unaccustomed to look upon mankind with suspicion, huddle closely 
together at the approach of a dog, and rarely flush unless compelled 
to do so. So far, very few Northern gunners have condescended to 
spend their days in the South shooting quail, preferring to follow 
larger and wilder game, but a week among the coveys on the Ar- 
kansas, Red or Washita river plantations would be an experience 
unequalled by anything to be enjoyed in the older States, and never 
to be forgotten so long as the shooter retains an interest in matters 
pertaining to the dog and gun. 

In years gone by, many prairie chickens were to be found on 
Grand Prairie in Arkansas, and other prairies of smaller extent in 
the same, but the fate that has pursued the pinnated grouse in other 
regions has overtaken it here. South of Alexandria, La., some 
chicken shooting may be had, but at many points where they were 
once abundant the grouse has now disappeared. Writers in the 
various sportsmen's journals have credited Arkansas with the pos- 
session of many ruffed grouse, but the statement has no foundation 
in fact, and is on a par with others of like nature that are con- 
tinually finding their way into print. The southern limit of the 
habitat of ruffed grouse west of the Mississippi river, hardly reaches 
the dividing line between Missouri and Arkansas. Nine out of every 
ten hunters, in the last mentioned State, know of the royal game 
bird only by reputation, but it can well be spared where other varie- 
ties of feathered game are so abundant. 

In the late fall months, and frequently until the beginning of 
January, the sloughs and slashes of Southern Missouri and Arkansas 
are filled with wild fowl — mallard, teal, and wood duck, with a 
sprinkling of other varieties — feeding upon the acorns of the willow, 
oak and overcup. With the first cool breath from the north they are 
assembled here by the thousands, remaining until the more severe 
weather prompts them to drift on in the wake of a vanished sum- 

—11— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

mer, the greater portion of their number spending the winter in the 
sunny lakes of Louisiana, or in the sheltered bays that indent the 
gulf coast. Occasionally, but not every winter, there is a flight of 
canvasbacks and redheads, and along the larger rivers wild geese 
and brants abound. Snipe shooting can be had in its season on the 
various small prairies, but very little attention is paid to this class 
of sport. 

The days of the trapping brigades came to an end a half century 
ago, but there are still hundreds of men who derive a revenue from 
the capture and sale of furs, and Southeastern Missouri and Arkan- 
sas has long been considered the choicest of trapping grounds. The 
climate is a trifle too warm to admit of furs reaching the highest 
perfection, but the quality is fair, while as regards quantity nothing 
is left to be desired. The coon and mink furnish the greater part 
of the peltries taken; but there is a fair sprinkling of beaver and 
otter, while possum and skunk are so common that they are con- 
tinually stepping an unwary foot in the traps designed to effect more 
valuable captures. A great many bears are caught by trappers, who 
set huge steel traps and log pens near their usual haunts, but wolves 
and wildcats are generally too cautious to allow their hunger or 
curiosity to lead them into dangers from which there is no retreat. 
Trapping, as a pursuit, is not likely to appeal very forcibly to the 
fancy of the average sportsman, and it is perhaps as well that such 
is the case, for in Arkansas there is a law, still in force, which re- 
quires the purchase of a license or permit by non-resident hunters 
or trappers who ply their craft for profit within the limits of the 
State, or, failing in this, enforces the payment of a heavy fine. 

Such, briefly stated, are the attractions that await the hunter in 
the region of which we write. The list of game as given, will hold 
good in almost every locality, though, naturally, in every range 
some one or more variety leads in abundance. Squirrels, foxes and 
grays, and cotton-tail and swamp rabbits are everywhere too com- 
mon to deserve special mention as game, but their presence adds 
zest and variety to the scenes of sylvan beauty, further enlivened by 
the thousands of feathered migrants, halting on the passage south- 
ward, as though reluctant to continue their journey to a less at- 

—12— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS 

tractive region whose climate grants them immunity from the 
paralyzing chill of winter. 

To that second great class of sportsmen, the brethren of the 
"gentle angle," this vast expanse of wooded hills and lowlands, with 
its numerous navigable rivers and thousands of streams of less 
consequence, offers attractions second to none within the boundaries 
of our Union. The claim has been made that in the more sluggish 
bayous and streams immediately tributary to the Mississippi, the 
fish found are not of the kind known to the sportsman as game fish, 
but this is another error so transparent that it is hardly worth 
refutal. If large-mouth black bass, averaging from two to five 
pounds in weight, are not sufficiently "gamey" — if pike-perch, crappie 
and gaspergou are unfit occupants for an angler's creel or beneath 
the notice of a modern disciple of Izaak Walton; then the foregoing 
statement is based upon facts and the fisherman had best confine 
himself to the to be fingerlings taken from the famous streams of 
the Adirondacks and the Maine woods. However, it is true that 
here all are not game fish that take the bait, for a minnow caster 
may at any moment find himself vainly striving to restrain the er- 
ratic movements of a hook-stung dog fish, channel cat, or alligator 
gar; and, then, though the sport is lively, the "wind up" is often to 
be regretted, for a gar weighing from fifty to two hundred pounds 
has a way of demolishing light tackle that is discouraging, to say the 
least, and it is not every channel cat or grindle that will permit itself 
to be towed ashore by a line incapable of sustaining one-fourtli of its 
actual weight. Aside from the ravenous bait-takers mentioned, the 
streams are stocked with an abundance of salmon trout, perch, buf- 
falo, shad, drum and the different varieties of the "cat" family — 
some of them attaining enormous dimensions. As one writer has 
truthfully said: "The fisherman who visits Arkansas may grow 
satiated with sport, but he will never tire of it for want of success," 
and this verdict, delivered by one who has had opportunities to judge 
from experience, will apply with equal force to the States adjoining 
Arkansas on the north and south. 



—13— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



Hcnv to Reach the Woods, 

THE sportsman, by perfecting his arrangements in advance, 
can leave his oflBce at the close of business hours, and after 
a leisurely discussed supper, seek refreshing slumber in the 
luxurious berth of a Pullman coach, to awaken next morning in the 
hunting grounds of Arkansas, and, participating in a bear chase 
or deer-drive, or, perchance, catching a soul-satisfying creel of lordly 
bass, find himself again in the city on the morning of the second 
day before the sun has gilded the smoke-stained dome of the court 
house. However, trips of such short duration, though possible, are 
not to be recommended, for most sportsmen are so constituted that 
a single day in the woods will only excite an uncontrollable longing 
to linger on, in spite of the calls of business, rather than to return 
to the old atmosphere of care and worry, now rendered a thousand 
times more tiresome by comparison with the wild life of the woods. 
The hunter or angler with but a single day to spare, had best con- 
fine his wanderings within narrower limits, contenting himself with 
breathing the free air of the fields and dreaming of the time when, 
the annual vacation in order, he will be at liberty to pack his 
•'dufile" in the trunk or canvas bag reserved for such occasions, 
roll his blankets within the folds of his tent and turn his back upon 
civilization for a term of weeks rather than hours. Within the last 
few years, hundreds of sportsmen from all portions of the North 
and East have visited the streams and forests to be reached by way 
of the Iron Mountain system from St. Louis, Memphis or Cairo, with 
the almost invariable result, that those who go once repeat the trip 
upon the recurrence of the hunting season, and relate their suc- 
cesses to their friends and associates who are thus led to follow in 
their footsteps and strive to equal their achievements. Naturally, a 
universal inquiry has arisen in regard to the best hunting and fish- 
ing grounds of Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana and adjoining 
States, and the letters upon this subject received by the General 
Passenger Department of the Iron Mountain Route have become so 

—14— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

numerous that it has been found advisable to compile all available 
information in pamphlet form for general distribution — a task of no 
little difficulty, chiefly because the mass of data at hand, relating to 
such a large scope of territory, must be carefully edited and "boiled 
down" in order to force it all within the prescribed limits . The 
facts that follow have been furnished by residents of the localities 
mentioned and compiled by a person thoroughly acquainted with the 
subject in all its bearings, and though, in a good many instances, 
thoroughness of detail has been sacrificed to the demand for brevity, 
the accuracy of the information given may be fully relied upon. 

Facts have been given, and facts only, and, with these supplied, 
the average sportsman can safely be left to plan out his trip as he 
may think best. The object of this pamphlet is not to furnish a 
guide book directing to a few old and worn-out resorts, but rather 
to give the hunter or angler a general idea of the country he pro- 
poses to explore, and of the species and descriptions of game and 
fish that he will there encounter. The range of locality offered has 
practically no limits, and hundreds of parties might be In the field 
at the same time without one coming in contact with another. To 
this enchanted land of forest, lake and stream, the Iron Mountain 
Route is the great thoroughfare, and the pages that immediately 
follow will treat exclusively of the points directly upon its line 
which are contiguous to good hunting and fishing grounds. Farther 
on, the reader will be led into a more extended field. 




—15- 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 





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IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



Within Sound of the Locomotive Whistle. 

RIDING southward from St. Louis, less than two hour's travel, 
will carry one to some very good localities for obtaining 
sport with rod and gun. If the angler has but a few short 
hours at his disposal, Horine or Hematite might be visited with 
very good results, for in the small streams adjacent to those two 
points, fish can be taken representing all the different varieties 
found in the Mississippi river to which these waters are directly 
tributary; squirrels, rabbits, and quail abound and an occasional 
turkey may be discovered in the thicker coverts. Morse's Mill on the 
Negro fork of the Meramec, west of Horine, is a noted fishing ground 
for St. Louis anglers, the principal kinds of game fish, taken at that 
point, being large and small mouth black bass— more commonly the 
latter— pike and crappie. Blackwell, the second station below 
De Soto, is another point of which fishermen speak well. 

The Columbus branch of the Iron Mountain Route, leaving the 
main line at Bismarck, seventy-five miles from St. Louis, reaches a 
country renowned for its quail and small game generally, as well as 
for its fishing streams and the wild fowl that congregate in the 
proper season along their winding channels. The broad grain fields 
of Cape Girardeau county are a favorite stopping place for the 
enormous flights of wild geese, following the Mississippi on their 
passage southward, while the acres of standing corn left ungathered 
until the latter months of winter affords ample reason and excuse 
for the presence of thousands of quail. 

Allenville will probably afford to the wing shot as good an op- 
portunity for the exercise of his skill as a reasonable man could 
wish. There are a number of lakes in the vicinity where the wild 
fowl spend their nights, after days that are passed in robbing the 
thrifty Missouri farmer, and the flight shooting in the morning and 
evening is excellent. In the low grounds east of Castor, or Little 
river, there are a great many deer and turkey, while all kinds of 
small game abound. 

—17— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




A Native, on the Upper St. Francis. 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

Mile Ckeek and Williamsville are stations on the main line, and 
are also located immediately upon the banks of Black river, a stream 
visited every year by hundreds of anglers from a distance. In the 
interior of the Ozark mountains, west of these points, the Current 
river tumbles over its bed of gravel and boulders, to join the Black 
below the Arkansas border line. This is also a splendid fishing 
stream, noted for the number of small mouth black bass that leap 
and gambol in its waters. The Current River Club, composed of 
influential citizens of St. Louis and other Missouri towns, has a 



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Castor River Club House, Buffington, Mo. 

club house on this stream, which may be easily reached by a short 
land tour from either of the points mentioned, or by rail from 
Williamsville. In the mountains on either side the Current, large 
and small game is found in comparative abundance, turkeys being 
quite plentiful, while, with a good dog, it is very little trouble to 
get a deer afoot in the early morning. The Irish Wilderness, a tract 
of very broken and mountainous character drained by the Current 
river, is a favorite resort for many old-time deer hunters who do 
not object to encountering more or less of hard and rough work 

—19— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

while in pursuit of their favorite sport. This region is perhaps 
Lhe wildest in Southern Missouri, but, owing to its distance from the 
railroad, its detailed description cannot be attempted in the present 
:;onnection. It is rarely visited by Northei-n gunners, though ac- 
L;essible by wagon from different points on the main line of the 
[ron Mountain Route, but the sportsman who penetrates to the 
Jepths of this bit of mountain wilderness will be well repaid for his 
time and trouble. 

PoPLAB Bluff, at the junction of the Cairo branch, is a good out- 
atting point for parties who contemplate a visit to the swamp lands 
of the upper St. Francis river, and big game ranges of New Madrid, 
Dunklin and Pemiscot counties. Fishing in the St, Francis, Big and 
Little Black rivers, and Cane creek is always first class. Bass, pike 
s,nd crappie eagerly striking at almost any sort of bait or lure, and 
there is a good deal of small game to engage the attention of the 
man who loves the smell of burnt powder. Deer were formerly 
abundant in this locality, but the venison-loving farmer and lum- 
berer have been prominent figures in their disappearance. Poplar 
Bluff has been in the past the objective point for a good many par- 
Lies of Northern hunters, and therefore the absence of large game 
in that vicinity may be susceptible of a dual explanation, and that 
the local gunners are not alone responsible. 

At Neelysville, a branch of the Iron Mountain extends to Doni- 
phan, situated on the banks of the Current river, a desirable point 
for quail shooting and bass fishing, with the advantage of having 
a big game range within a few hour's drive in every direction. Some 
fifteen miles west of Doniphan, on the Eleven Points river, a branch 
of the Black, lies a hilly country covered with open woods and a 
growth of high grass, a favorite range for deer and turkey. Several 
hunting parties from St. Louis visit this locality annually, while 
the Current river at Doniphan often contributes its bass and crappie 
to fill the creels of sportsmen from Missouri's largest city. 

Crossing the northern boundary of Arkansas at Moark, the first 
station of importance is Corning, a favorite resort for fishermen 
from St. Louis and other northern points. Black river, three miles 
to the eastward, has an enviable reputation as a fishing stream, here, 
as elsewhere in its course, and thoroughly deserves the good opinion 

—21— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

of the anglers who frequent its banks; while almost within sight 
of the station Corning lake spreads its placid surface in invitation 
to the dancing lure and toothsome minnow. The fame of Corning 
lake surpasses that of other Arkansas waters, because it is oftener 
fished by parties living outside the State. It is a good place to go 




The Black River at Poplar Bluff. 



for a few days' sport because of its convenience to the railroad, and 
the fact that boats are handy and can be had at any time for a 
nominal sum, but there are hundreds of lakes as good, so far as the 
mere matter of fish is concerned, scattered here and there through- 
out the Eastern portion of the "Bear State." Small houses for the 
convenience of visiting sportsmen have been built at different points 
on Black river, and as they rent for a trifle, are in many ways pre- 

—22— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

ferable to the impromptu camps generally erected as a temporary 
makeshift without regard to the occupant's comfort. The forests in 
the vicinity are plentifully stocked with squirrels and other small 
game, and wherever cultivated fields are found good quail shooting 
is obtainable. As a stopping point for deer hunters. Corning is 
preferable to Poplar Bluff, and in some years deer are found without 
difficulty within a few miles of town, being particularly abundant in 
the tract of country known as "Deer Range," lying east of Black 
river. An occasional deer can always be found by the persistent 
hunter, and flocks of turkeys are commonly encountered — this, in 
point of fact, being the case almost anywhere in the surrounding 
region, 

Knobel, six miles farther down the road and beyond the crossing 
of Black river, is the junction point of the main line of the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern and its Helena branch, and 
aside from its natural advantages of location in the heart of a first- 
class hunting and fishing country, is also particularly desirable as a 
stopping place for sportsmen, since it is provided with good hotel 
accommodations and is in easy reaching distance by rail of choice 
fishing and shooting on the St, Francis and L'Anguille rivers. Guides 
are obtainable here, as well as conveyances for transferring tents 
and camp outfits to the hunting grounds. Deer, turkeys and squir- 
rels are found within six or eight miles of town, and splendid fish- 
ing for bass, pickerel and crappie in Mill, Maiden and Allen lakes, 
from two to four miles out. Cache river lies six miles to the east- 
ward, and is a stream famous for its game and fish. 

Following, to Helena, a course nearly parallel to that of the St. 
Francis river, the branch road from Knobel offers to sportsmen a 
score of stopping places, any of which may be selected with confi- 
dence in the results. The famous Sunken Lands of the St. Francis 
have been so often described in glowing terms that it is quite un- 
necessary to grant them any of our limited space. Farther down, 
where the river, confined between narrower banks begins to develop 
a current and the impassable marshes give place to firmer soil, game 
is found in undiminished quantity and its pursuit can be followed 
under more favorable conditions. The name of the "Sunken Lands" 
is attractive, and it would be difficult to find a section of country 

—24— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

better supplied with all that adds to the happiness of those who love 
the wild life of the forest, but all of this — not even excepting the 
wonderful wild-fowl shooting in season — can be enjoyed on the lower 
river beyond the limits of this woodland lake. 

Gainesville the first town of any size on the branch after Knobel 
has been left behind, has St. Francis lake in its vicinity which will 
furnish suflBcient employment for the men of rod and reel, while, as 
elsewhere in this favored region, the gunners will never be at loss 
for targets upon which to display their skill. Brookland in Craig- 
head and Hatchie Coon in Poinsett counties, stations of minor im- 
portance in some respects, are, nevertheless, worthy of remembrance 
by sportsmen who may contemplate a visit to this portion of Ar- 
kansas, for at such points the trails leading to the woods are usually 
short and often indented throughout their length by the sharp hoofs 
of wandering deer hungry for a meal of the farmer's peas or sweet 
potato vines. Vanndale and Wynne, in Cross county, are both noted 
points for deer hunting, while the different lakes in the St. Francis 
and L'Anguille bottoms, as well as both the rivers just named, afford 
an inexhaustible supply of bass, jack-salmon, crappie, and the other 
fishes common to this region. 

Marianna, twenty-six miles north of Helena, is not far from the 
confluence of the L'Anguille with the St. Francis, and between these 
two streams, for some distance above their juncture, is a large scope 
of unsettled country, at present the chosen haunt of the deer and 
bear. Here, the gray wolf still pursues his quarry as in the days 
before railroads had placed this wilderness within twelve hours of 
the Southwestern metropolis, and the panther's scream occasionally 
frightens the deer hunter from his stand or silences the sturdy chal- 
lenge of the wild gobbler. Before the non-exportation laws went 
into effect, a great deal of game was shipped from this point, and 
enormous consignments of buffalo and catfish, taken from the adja- 
cent rivers, still go to Northern dealers. Happily the shipment out 
of the State of other varieties is rigidly prohibited, but the local 
angler can supply his table, throughout the greater portion of the 
year, with the choicest of game fish, secured with even the most 
primitive of tackle from the pool or stream most convenient to his 
dwelling. 

—26— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 

Probably 90 per cent of the sportsmen, who may chance to drift 
down the main line of the Iron Mountain Route beyond Knobel, will 
drop off at De La Plaine or O'Kjean, feeling convinced from past 
experience, that the deer they are looking for can be easily found 
in the white oak flats contiguous to the Cache; if not in the river 
bottoms proper. The oak forests in the districts between the Black 
and Cache rivers have been sadly depleted by the axes of lumber- 
men and tiemakers, but the game still lingers in the old "chop- 
outs," though the undergrowth, in localities, is rendering its pur- 
suit diflBcult. Fishing is good at both the points mentioned, but to 
enumerate the different lakes and small streams within reach would 
be unnecessary. 

From Walnut Ridge to Newport, at the crossing of White river, 
the railroad passes through a belt of country similar in nature to 
that just described, with Black and Cache rivers about equal dis- 
tance on either hand. Though settlements are scattered everywhere 
they are not so thick as to interfere with hunting to any marked de- 
gree. The hunter never goes away empty-handed, and when accom- 
panied by hounds often kills deer within sight of the different towns, 
and turkeys forage the farmers' corn fields daily, while of smaller 
game there is an unlimited abundance. Walnut Ridge claims for 
one of its citizens a record of five deer and twenty-five turkeys in 
one day, a score that will hardly be duplicated soon, but which 
speaks volumes for that locality as a hunting resort. Wolves, wild- 
cats and small game add zest and variety to the forest sports, and 
wherever fields of any size are encountered, good quail shooting with 
or without a dog, is easily obtainable. Newport is perhaps one of 
the best fishing points in the State, as it is located on White river 
not far from the mouth of Black and within easy reach of Cache. 
Bass, salmon, crappie, pike and all kinds of perch are plentiful in 
these streams, as well as in Burgon lake, only three miles from the 
city, Gambol's lake about four, and Waldo lake not more than five. 
On the large farms and cotton plantations in Big Bottom, some 
twenty miles up the White River branch, and Oil Trough Bottom, 
directly across the river from the locality just named, the lover 
of wing shooting can find quail to his heart's content. Here the 
birds are rarely disturbed by the local gunners, who consider such 

—28— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

small game unworthy of notice, and they are very numerous and 
easy of approach. Batesvizle is the terminus of the White river 
branch, and is located in the edge of the mountainous region that 
extends over the entire Western half of the State. It is an inter- 
esting little city of several thousand inhabitants, located in the midst 
of attractive and romantic scenery, and the fishing in that locality is 
unexcelled. Batesville would be a splendid objective point for a 
summer angling trip, and in its vicinity small game of all descrip- 
tions can be taken in quantities, though large game is less abundant 
than at points lower down the river. 

Bbadfoed, on the main line below Newport, is in a good locality 
for both hunting and fishing, being handy to White river and pos- 
sessed of all the advantages that such proximity supplies, while 
there is also a first-class deer range in the hills some nine or ten 
miles to the westward. Big lake, one mile east, and Little Lake, 
about the same distance south, are both famous for the quantity of 
fish they contain, as well as on account of their unusual clearness, 
the bottom of either being visible at a depth of twenty feet. Other 
lakes abound, furnishing splendid fishing and good duck shooting in 
season. 

Memphis is now the eastern terminus of the Memphis Extension 
of the Iron Mountain route, and the completion of that branch made 
accessible, both from the east and west, a large tract of country 
unsettled and wild, and hitherto inaccessible, but which had long 
been known to abound in all kinds of game and fish. No point can 
be said to surpass another for hunting and fishing on this whole 
line, but at any point the sportsman chooses to embark he will find 
plenty of food for his ammunition, and fish eager to snap his bait. 
The first train from Memphis took a party of hunters from that 
place, and almost immediately on its opening the Bald Knob Rod and 
Gun Club was organized with headquarters at Earle, where they 
have erected a club house. The following are the varieties of fish 
found: Black bass, speckled perch, brim, and pickerel. In game: he 
will find ample enjoyment in bringing down deer, turkeys, geese, 
ducks, quail, rabbits, squirrels, etc. Bai.d Knob Junction, the west- 
ern terminus of this branch, was, until the non-export interfered, the 
favorite hunting ground for a number of market shooters, the flat 

—30— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

woods, east of this point, fairly swarming witli deer in the winter 
when the overflow had driven them from the low bottoms of White 
and Little Red rivers. In the winter of 1888-1889, over two hun- 
dred deer were killed within six miles of Bald Knob, and other 
seasons have seen this score exceeded. A great many bears still 
roam through the cane brakes skirting the rivers, faring sumptuously 
upon fresh pork whenever the fancy takes, and occasionally furnish- 
ing a feast for the farmer whose smoke-house stands empty by 
reason of their foraging. A description of the fishing in the neigh- 
borhood of Bald Knob would be merely a repetition of an old story. 
Streams and lakes are of precisely the same character as those men- 
tioned in connection with other points, the variety of fish is iden- 
tically the same, and the most persistent angler will always secure 
the fullest creel or heaviest string, for the amount of his catch is 
decided only by his ability to bait hooks and fight his fish. 

From Bald Knob to Little Rock the main line passes through a 
comparatively thickly settled district, gradually drawing away from 
the course of the larger streams. In this stretch of fifty-seven miles 
large game is scarce, though by no means altogether lacking. Quail, 
squirrels and rabbits afford abundant sport for those who prefer 
the shotgun to the rifle, and turkeys frequent the field farthest from 
the farm houses, and find ample cover for the protection of their 
young broods in the belts of timber that still remain. As the Ar- 
kansas river is neared, wild goose and duck shooting is good in the 
proper season, and many follow it as a profitable business, making 
five and six dollars a day. This is particularly the case at 
McAxMONT, on the main line, six miles north of Little Rock, and 
here, too, fishing can be had fully equal to any in the State. Hill's 
lake, five miles east, is much frequented by fishermen from the sur- 
rounding country, while Frammel lake, one mile, Peelar lake, two 
miles, and Ink bayou, scarcely one-half mile east of town, all abound 
in bass, trout, pike, and the different varieties of perch. Deer and 
turkeys are frequently killed in this locality, and all sorts of small 
game is abundant. 

At Traskwood, the first station north of Malvern, the angler will 
receive intelligence of excellent fishing on every side, but will be 
somewhat surprised to find that the favorite method of obtaining a 

—31— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

supply of the silvery-sided beauties is by spearing — or "gigging," as 
it is here termed. In the Saline river and its numerous feeders, the 
water is perfectly transparent, and, however deep the pools may be, 
the fish are readily discovered, and as readily secured, by an expert 
hand with the heavy, long-handled spear. At Donaldson, on the 
Ouachita, the same method of fishing is generally pursued, though 
a great many fish are shot with the rifle, in the use of which many 
of the residents of this vicinity gain a remarkable proficiency. It 
requires a peculiar training to enable any one to shoot fish in water 
of even moderate depth with any certainty, but an expert shot rarely 
misses his aim, and it is no unfrequent feat to shoot a thirty or 
forty pound buffalo. In all the streams and lakes of this region the 
water is so clear that a pin can be seen lying at the bottom at a 
depth of ten feet, and so great is the variety and number of fish 
that fishing with a hook is rarely undertaken. At Donaldson deer 
are abundant, and occasionally a bear is found in the breaks of the 
hills bordering the Ouachita bottoms. Where large game is easily 
found, it goes without saying, that there is no scarcity of the 
smaller beasts and birds, and at all points south of the Arkansas 
river quail and squirrel shooting can be expected without the pos- 
sibility of a disappointment. 

In this connection Arkadexphia can be mentioned as one of the 
best localities in the state for quail shooting, second only to portions 
of Calhoun and Union counties southeast of Camden. Clark county, 
in which Arkadelphia is located, has been long noted for the rich- 
ness of its soil and the uniform success of its cultivators; a goodly 
share of the county is in cultivation, and in Arkansas wherever 
there are open fields, quail can be found by the hundreds and thou- 
sands. A good many old-time deer hunters reside at Arkadelphia 
and still own and train their packs of hounds, though deer in the 
immediate neighborhood of the town are growing scarce and hard 
to "jump." The Ouachita furnishes the best of fishing, and in the 
winter months the Arkadelphian finds abundant use for his shotgun 
in attempting to halt the flight of the ducks and geese that are 
following the river's course. 

Camden, mentioned above, is the terminus of the Camden branch 
and is thirty-four miles from the main line. This is one of the old- 

i —33— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

est towns of the State, and was the supply point for a large scope 
of territory, in the days before the advent of railroads, when the 
freight and passenger traflBc of the entire country was handled by 
steamboats. Situated on the bank of the Ouachita, and with Wood- 
ard, Johnson, Pine, Moron, Blue and Fisher's lakes all to be reached 
over good wagon roads in from thirty minutes to one hour, the 
angler who may chance to visit this town will hardly suffer for lack 
of opportunity to wet a line in waters fairly aswarm with bass, 
trout and perch. The hotel accommodations at Camden are excel- 
lent, guides easily obtainable, and choice hunting grounds for large 
and small game close at hand. 

BouGHTON, on the main line a few miles below Gurdon, is in a good 
range for all-around hunting and fishing, the little Missouri and 
Antoine rivers and Cypress bayou, with other smaller streams and 
lakes supplying the wants of the most exacting of anglers, while all 
varieties of game common to the States abound. At Hope, a short 
branch line leads to Nashville, a prime point for all who love the 
best of sport. Red and Little Saline rivers. Little river and the 
Little Missouri are all convenient and easy to reach, and the hunter 
who penetrates their thickly grown bottoms should keep on the 
alert for a shot at the largest of Arkansian game. Deer and wild 
turkeys are too common to deserve special notice, and bears and 
panthers are frequently encountered. Washington, the first town 
reached on the branch, is but little further from the big game range 
and has excellent quail shooting in its vicinity. Fulton is another 
good stopping place for sportsmen, its location on Red river making 
it a particularly desirable point for those who wish to get good 
fishing within rifle shot of a hotel, with an almost endless range for 
hunting on either hand. Little river, which enters Red a short 
distance above Fulton, can hardly be improved upon as a fishing 
stream, and its name is connected with half the bear-hunting yarns 
told by the Nimrods of Southern Arkansas. Deer can be found both 
in the river bottoms and among the pine and oak forests of the 
flat lands and ridges, but still hunting is rarely resorted to — the 
majority of the resident hunters preferring hounding. Turkeys are 
about the only other game generally hunted, though the woods are 

—34— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 

full of squirrels and rabbits, and the call of the Bob White echoes 
through every clearing. 

Conway, Mokkillion and Russellville are points on the Little 
Rock & Fort Smith division, and all of them report good fishing in 
the Arkansas river, as well as in the numerous small courses, that 
have their source in the Boston mountains, flowing into the Arkan- 
sas from the north. Small game is plentiful, and deer and turkeys 
can be found in the hills a few miles back from the river, though not 
in any great numbers. Piney, further west, is a more desirable 
point for hunting than any of those just mentioned, and for fishing 
is, perhaps, as good. Quail, squirrels and rabbits abound, as at all 
other points in the State, and deer are frequently killed on Big 
and Little Piney creeks at no great distance from the railroad. "Wild 
geese and ducks are plentiful on the sandbars of the river in the 
winter seasons. 

Spadra is the first station on the Little Rock & Fort Smith division 
west of Clarksville. Spadra creek is fed by mountain springs. Its 
waters are as clear as crystal, and abound in mountain trout and a 
fine variety of perch. The scenery along this stream has long been 
noted for its beauty and picturesqueness, its rocky banks resembling 
an Adirondack stream. The Arkansas river is near, where all the 
larger varieties of fish are found. In hunting, deer is the largest 
game. Turkeys, ducks and squirrels furnish ample sport for the 
hunter in their season. Higher up on the mountains great sport is 
afforded in hunting the gray fox, which is very plentiful and valua- 
ble for its fur. 

Fort Smith is the western terminus of the Little Rock & Fort 
Smith division, and the region around about, especially to the north, 
south and west, is one vast hunting and fishing paradise. The 
streams near the city, in which black bass, pike, crappie and cat- 
fish abound, are Lees creek, Vache Grasse and Frog bayou in the 
State, and the Poteau and Illinois rivers and Vian and Salisaw 
creeks in the Territory. The fishing is excellent, but for genuine 
sport the hunter, with his gun and dog, has the call here. This 
sport is not confined to any particular locality, but parties are or- 
ganized and excursions are made a hundred miles to the north, 
south and west, all of which territory is a vast hunting ground 

—35— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 

abounding in all kinds of game. Tlie hunter will go prepared to 
shoot deer, foxes, turkeys, quail, ducks and chickens. Local sports- 
men are to be found who are always ready to join and assist in ex- 
peditions of this kind. 

There now remains to be described the different points of interest 
to sportsmen along the Houston, Central Arkansas & Northern line, 
a branch of the Iron Mountain Route, at present extending from 
Little Rock to Alexandria, La., a distance of 305 miles. This line, 
through a goodly portion of its length, is of comparatively recent 
construction and renders accessible a vast stretch of unbroken forest 
but little known to hunters from the outer world — ^a hunting ground 
of more than ordinary merit, where the larger game can roam as far 
as their fancy dictates without finding their way barred by the 
settler's fence or encroaching upon the cleared fields that tell of 
civilization's irresistible march. The road follows, for the first part 
of its distance, a course parallel to that of the Arkansas river, 
though running from one to fifteen miles to the southward of that 
stream. Then, turning abruptly to the right, it bears away directly 
through the heart of Louisiana, passing through some old, long- 
settled farming districts, and, finally, plunging into the depths of 
the largest unbroken body of pine forest that the United States now 
contains, to emerge at last on the banks of the Red river at Alex- 
andria. Every station in the entire distance deserves some share of 
our notice, for each has its surroundings of forest and stream; each 
its enthusiastic sportsmen, proud of their own hunting grounds and 
loath to concede that there are better farther on. But what of space 
will forbid mention of many points that might well rank with the 
best. 

WiiiGHTSviLLE is twelve miles south of Little Rock, on the Arkan- 
sas City division, and, as a center for hunting and fishing, is un- 
surpassed. It is three miles from the Arkansas river, two and one- 
half miles from Horseshoe lake, and one mile from Pennington lake, 
which is fed by Fish creek. Pike, bass, cat, white perch, trout and 
sun-fish are on the constant lookout for the fisherman's hook. Com- 
mencing at Pennington lake and extending westward to the Saline 
river is an expanse of uninhabitated region known as the Pennington 
Forest. This is composed of pine and cypress timber, with large 

—37— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

tracts of jungle and cypress brakes. Deer and turkeys have their 
favorite haunts here and small game abound in unlimited quan- 
tities. 

Redfield is on the Arkansas City section south of "Wrightsville. 
Deer, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits and quail abound in large quanti- 
ties in that vicinity, and the hunter will not have to go beyond a 
radius of ten miles from town to satisfy his desire to kill some- 
thing. In the way of fishing, Harris and Lipscomb lakes, the Ar- 
kansas river. Bitter Camp and Harrison creeks, are all within three 
and a half miles of Redfleld and are well stocked with black bass, 
trout, jack perch, catfish and buffalo. 

Jefferson Springs is between Little Rock and Pine Bluff, on the 
Arkansas City section, and has for fishing waters the Arkansas river 
and its bayous, in which are found catfish, perch, black bass and sev- 
eral other varieties in abundance. The woods in this vicinity have 
plenty of deer, foxes, rabbits, opossums, squirrels, and, in their 
season, turkeys, geese ducks and quail. 

Pine Bluff is the most important city on the Arkansas City di- 
vision, and is the center of excellent hunting and fishing territory. 
The Saline river, Atkins lake and Clear lake abound in mountain 
trout, speckled perch, black bass, catfish, etc., and splendid camp- 
ing facilities are to be found around these lakes. The shooting is 
also fine, and deer, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits, grouse, quail and 
ducks are easily bagged. Occasionally a bear may be met, but they 
are becoming scarce. Foxes are so common that fox-hunting has 
ceased to be sport for the old hunters. The winter is very dry and 
pleasant, and after the first of October this is a veritable hunter's 
paradise. 

Noble Lake, on the Arkansas City section, has in its vicinity the 
Arkansas river, Atkins lake and Noble lake, which are well stocked 
with trout, catfish, buffalo, speckled perch, white perch and sun-fish. 
The whole country about this place is a vast hunting ground in 
which are found large quantities of deer, turkeys, squirrels, rab- 
bits, foxes, geese, ducks and quail. 

Leaving Noble lake behind, an ideal deer country is found near 
Vabner, the third station beyond. The timber growth, which be- 
tween Little Rock and Pine Bluff was principally pine, has changed 

—38— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

again, and the broad flats lying along the headwaters of Bayou 
Bartholomew are wooded with the different varieties of oak, gum, 
elm and hicliory. The undergrowth is rather close here for rifle 
shooting, but a shotgun answers as well at close quarters, and 
around Varner it is unnecessary to risk long range shots. Turkeys 
are quite plentiful, as they usually are in a region where pine-oak 
acorns cover the ground in autumn and winter, and the wild black- 
berry ripens its fruit in early summer. Squirrels are everywhere. 
On the Arkansas river, north of the town, and across the river at the 
mouth of Bayou Meto, a good many bears can yet be found, but they 
are hunted persistently by market gunners, who ship their meat to 
Pine Bluff and Little Rock, and their numbers are rapidly de- 
creasing. 

Dumas is a station of small importance in some respects, but the 
residents of the little town are sportsmen, and they live in a locality 
where they can gratify their fancy for deer driving to the utmost. 
The stranger in their midst, if possessed of a taste for such sport, 
would be heartily invited to join in their wild rides after the fleet- 
footed and evasive buck, and it is nothing uncommon for a hunting 
party to kill twelve or fifteen in a single day. 

Walnut Lake the next station to Dumas, has an enviable reputa- 
tion as a fishing and duck shooting resort. The lake is deep and 
clear, and its beauty, quite as much as the fine fishing it affords, 
attracts numerous parties from as far away as Little Rock. A shoot- 
ing club from the State's capital has a club house on the bank of 
Walnut Lake, and it is occupied pretty regularly during the hunting 
season. 

Winchester, a few miles farther on, claims the reputation of ship- 
ping more deer during the open season than any other station in 
Arkansas. In 1890, two men, hunting principally at night with 
headlights, killed 145 and 87 deer respectively. That this wholesale 
slaughter did not "utterly extinguish the breed," is evidenced by the 
fact that twenty-six deer were shipped from Winchester on one train 
in the fall of '92, and hardly a day passed that shipments of less 
consequence were not made. The hunting grounds extend pretty 
generally in every direction for a number of miles, but the "best is to 
be found between the railroad and Arkansas river some fifteen miles 

—39— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



,-.^-^ ■- -* ^f% "^ z 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

away. Bears and wolves are often killed by the deer hunters, and 
turkeys and small game are to be had "in quantities to suit" — if 
such a phrase is applicable here. 

Dermott is situated in the midst of a scope of wild country lying 
between Bayou Bartholomew and the Mississippi river, and possess- 
ing an inexhaustible supply of game of all descriptions. There are 
many so-called good hunting grounds where the citizen with non- 
observant habits, or the stay-at-home farmer, will tell you that game 
is "pow'e'ful sca'ce," but the good people of Dermott are all willing 
to confess that the woods around them are swarming with wild life. 
The fact is so patent that they cannot help observing it. Even a 
blind man, if served with three meals of venison per day for a 
series of months, would, in the end, be forced to admit that there 
must be more or less deer in the vicinity, and there are ways in 
which the mentally blind may be made to see. Fishing in the neigh- 
borhood of Dermott is good, bass, trout and perch being the prin- 
cipal varieties that interest anglers; but buffalo and cat, of the 
largest size, abound, while small fry, such as crappie, perch, etc., 
snap greedily at the baited hook as soon as it touches the water. 
Mason's, Earth's and Big bayous, and many lakes, large and small, 
are close at hand, and it is not far to Bartholomew and the Mis- 
sissippi. 

MoEELL and Portlakd the latter near the Louisiana line, are 
both good points for parties to visit in search of choice shooting and 
angling, Dobson's Ferry, on Boeuff river, twelve miles southeast of 
Portland, being a notable place for game and fish even in this "land 
of plenty," where deer skins are tacked against the side of every 
cabin, and fish are so plentiful that hooks and lines are unnecessary 
for their capture. The "deep water" in Boeuff river ranges from ten 
to forty feet for a stretch of eighteen miles, and it runs through a 
belt of forest nine miles wide without settlements. 

The transition from the southeastern corner of Arkansas to one 
of the northernmost parishes of Louisiana is all unnoted, for the 
general character of the country shows no change. It Is the same 
dead-level country shadowed by giant oaks and gums, exhibiting 
the great fertility of the soil where cultivated, by prodigious yields 
of the corn and cotton, and elsewhere by the rankness of the under- 

—41— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

growth and wild vegetation. A map of this region shows that the 
country is cut up by a perfect network of water-courses, many of 
them small, but all large enough to contain fish, and in Louisiana, 
where there is sufficient water to conceal a bass or crappie, you may 
drop a baited hook with a certainty of getting a bite. But little 
game is exported from this State, on account of its remoteness from 
the principal markets of the North and East, and, until of late, be- 
cause there were no lines of railroads over which it could be 
shipped; and though the conditions are now changed, it is probable 
that the State Legislature will take action to prevent the indis- 
criminate slaughter by market hunters of the wild beasts and 
birds. So it is possible that Louisiana may retain the distinction it 
now holds of possessing within its limits more game than any other 
State in the Union. 

BoA^iTA and Gallion may be enumerated among the points in 
Northern Louisiana that would particularly deserve the attention of 
sportsmen. The same large streams that we first encountered many 
miles up the line are here, to insure success rewarding the angler's 
efforts; the same forests, the same descriptions and abundance of 
game. 

Mee Rouge, situated in the heart of the rich prairie of that name, 
has nothing but small game in its immediate vicinity, but a short 
trip eastward or westward brings one again to the virgin forest 
with its original denizens and primeval beauties. 

From Monroe to Columbia, thirty-nine miles, the railroad follows 
the course of the Ouachita river. The greater part of the land im- 
mediately adjacent to the river has been in cultivation for a score of 
years, and if one was to search the world over it would be difficult 
to find a country where quail are more abundant or as seldom 
troubled by sportsmen. Back from the river larger game abounds — 
a fact easy to understand when one takes into consideration the fact 
that the nearest railway station east of Columbia is Grand Gulf, 
in Mississippi, sixty miles distant, while it is over one hundred 
miles west to Grand Cane, the closest point in that direction where 
the game-scaring whistle of the locomotive can be heard. 

Crossing the Ouachita near Columbia, the road enters the pine 
region of Louisiana, estimated to contain forty billion feet of milling 

—42— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

pine in addition to an incalculable amount of other choice woods, 
such as oak, ash, gum, poplar and cypress. To estimate the amount of 
game sheltered by this magnificent forest would be a task from 
which the rashest of statisticians would shrink. The only way in 
which it is possible to form even a faint idea of the facts, necessi- 
tates a visit to the country itself and a sojourn there of days and 
weeks. Between Columbia and Alexandria, sixty-nine miles, all the 
improvements are entirely new, the timber work being about the 
only industry carried on in the entire district, and the different 
stations located at or near mills and for the convenience of the mill 
men solely. Any point, selected at haphazard, will serve admirably 
as a stopping place for sportsmen, and plenty of game and fish will 
certainly be found in the immediate neighborhood. 

TtTLLOs boasts of as good deer shooting as the country affords, 
though the claim is contested by stations both above and below this 
point. Near here, at junction of the Castor and Little rivers, the 
fishing is undoubtedly as good as Louisiana, or the world, can show. 
Bass, crappie, perch and bar fish fight each other for the possession 
of the baited hook thrown in their midst, and the angler in telling 
of his catch, roughly guesses at the weight instead of keeping tally 
and memorizing the number of fish taken. The one might be for- 
gotten, but the other he can get at approximately at any time by 
"hefting" his string. 

HowcoTT City, perhaps, has the best territory around it, and the 
deer in that vicinity may be a trifle more plentiful and easier to 
approach than at other points up and down the line. The surround- 
ing woods are very nice for rifle shooting, being comparatively open 
and principally of pine with no low limbs to impede the catching of 
a quick sight on a running or standing. The railroad men, when they 
get a day off for a hunt, usually stop at Howcott City, and as they 
have a very good opportunity to hear of the best hunting ranges, it 
is fair to assume that they have a reason for selecting this place. 
Among the hunters who are thoroughly acquainted with woods, from 
two to five deer per day for each gun is not considered above an 
average score. Turkeys are quite plentiful, and along Little river, 
in the swampy bottoms it is an easy matter to find and kill a bear. 
The people in this region do not take small game into consideration 

—43— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



J" »^*, ■¥ r'5C 




IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 

when speaking of what their forests contain, but nevertheless it is 
here, and its presence is discovered as soon as one gets a hundred 
yards from the little patch of open clearing in which the depot 
stands. 

Pollock, the third station above Alexandria, deserves especial 
mention, because here the sportsman can find all the varieties of 
game common to this portion of Louisiana. At the same time it is 
only a few miles from Catahoula lake, where the man who has lost 
his bear can always find it — or another one; and if he should prefer 
to dispense with bear meat and take alligator steak instead, he can 
likewise be accommodated. Catahoula lake is surrounded by a verit- 
able wilderness and is a great resort for water fowl of all descrip- 
tions, many of them spending the winter along its marshy shores. 
Of fish it is unnecessary to repeat what has already been told and 
retold a score of times. 

Alexandria at the head of low-water navigation on the Red river, 
is in the center of the pine district of Louisiana, and consequently 
in the center of the best game range of the State. Profiting by the 
possibilities of rapid transit that the railroads centering in Alexan- 
dria allow, the sport-loving citizens of the town are often afield, and 
game, fresh from the woods, and that never saw the interior of a 
market, regularly graces their well-furnished tables. Of varieties, 
the list is long, including bears, deer, turkeys, coons, 'possums, 
squirrels, rabbits, geese, ducks, quail and a dozen species of waders, 
such as snipe, plover and curlew, all of which winter, to some ex- 
tent, in this latitude. Fishing, in the Red river and a hundred 
smaller streams and lakes, supplies abundant occupation for those 
who prefer the angler's "pensive craft" to the fiercer joys of the 
chase. The northbound train on the Houston, Central Arkansas & 
Northern leaves Alexandria in the early morning, and it is quite 
common for parties of hunters to run up as far as Howcott City or 
Pollock, kill from three to six deer and return on the evening train. 
Plume hunting has long been a source of profit to the gunners of 
Monroe and Alexandria — a great many semi-tropical birds nesting in 
summer along the lower Ouachita and Red rivers. 

It is difl5cult to understand why the hunting grounds of Louisiana 
are not more frequently visited by sportsmen from Northern and 

—45— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

Eastern States. Distance cannot be adduced as a reason for this 
neglect of the best deer range now in existence, for the city of 
Alexandria is only 638 miles from St. Louis, and is consequently 
nearer by several hundred miles than the hunting grounds of Col- 
orado, Wyoming or Montana. In Arkansas and Louisiana, while 
judicious game-protective measures have been adopted and are gen- 
erally respected and enforced, the open seasons are long, and the 
privileges allowed can be thoroughly enjoyed. Here the severity of 
winter storms or the impediment of snow drifts twenty feet in 
depth never intervene to hinder the hunter in pursuit of his game. 
Taking the season through not a single day need be lost from sport 
by reason of icy winds or penetrating cold, and, better than all the 
rest, the sportsman who wanders in this direction in seach of re- 
creation, when returning home is never compelled to stop en route 
and search the city markets for woodland trophies that he has failed 
to obtain in a more legitimate manner. 




Uncle Rastus Starting for a Possum Hunt. 
—46— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



Along the Wdtenvays. 



The facts given in the preceding pages have been compiled for the 
benefit of sportsmen who have but little time to spend in hunting 
and fishing excursions, and naturally desire to reach and return 
from the woods with all possible dispatch. There are many such, 
and each year there is a marked increase in the number of those 
who have learned that it is possible to enjoy a fair amount of wild 
life in the Southern forests without the sacrifice of valuable time. 
But there is a still larger class whose members believe that time 
spent in healthful recreation is not lost, and prefer to work the 
harder during eleven months in the year that the twelfth may be 
their own to dispose of as they please. Such men may be found in 
nearly every community, and, as they are the most ardent expon- 
ents of the gospel of health and innocent pleasures, their presence is 
easily discoverable. There is no taint of petty exclusiveness about 
the true sportsman. His heart is too large to permit him to monop- 
olize the good things of life. He is no misanthrope, to scorn the 
companionship of his fellow men, but, instead, the brotherhood of 
true sportsmanship is the broadest and most comprehensive in 
nature. Therefore we find that the hunter or angler, who spent last 
season in some delightful region well stocked with game and fish, 
will not only return there again when the proper time arrives, but 
he will be accompanied by one or more friends, less fortunate than 
himself in the past, and who are now to learn for the first time the 
real meaning of enjoyable sport. Every day during the autumn 
months, such parties pass Southward over the Iron Mountain Route, 
and among them there are many faces that the veteran conductors 
recognize at a glance — faces that have become familiar by reason of 
their reappearance, as regularly as the seasons roll around, during a 
half score of years. 

Such "old-timers" usually carry with them their camping "outfits," 
and go prepared for a stay of several weeks' duration. They have 

—47— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

engaged in advance the services of a guide, have located, through his 
aid, the present whereabouts of the game, and therefore Icnow 
exactly where their tent will be pitched, and possess a certain knowl- 
edge of the woods and waters among which the succeeding weeks 
are to be passed. With abundant time before them, they are not 
restricted to the confined ranges in the vicinity of railroad stations, 
but can venture out into the wilds. They are not dependent upon 
railroads or other hired means of conveyance, for a few dollars will 
procure them a batteau, skiff, or John-boat large enough to float 
their belongings, and, thus provided, the secret places of the swamps 
and mountains are open to them. 

The States of Arkansas and Louisiana are traversed by a network 
of streams, all navigable by canoes and other small craft, and many 
by the larger class of Mississippi steamboats. They are the sports- 
man's natural waterways, and their number is legion. Most of them 
are crossed by the Iron Mountain Route, or some of its branches, 
and, in consequence, parties of hunters and anglers, after a few 
hours' run from the cities of Memphis and St. Louis, can cut them- 
selves adrift from the busy, everyday world, and float out into the 
forest dreamland in search of the pleasures that lie hidden in 
nature's chosen retreats. The majority of the streams are yet un- 
explored by tourists, and thus it is impossible that their itineraries 
should be given. In the greater number of cases the smaller streams 
are yet untravelled save by the rude boats of timbermen and trap- 
pers, and every turn in their winding course reveals new objects of 
interest to the appreciative explorer. 

After crossing the Meramec, a few miles south of St. Louis, the 
first stream of importance encountered is Black River. The railroad 
runs parallel to its course from Mill Springs to a short distance 
above Poplar Bluff, where it crosses, only to cross back again at a 
point between Corning and Knobel, some thirty miles farther south. 
Canoes and batteaux can run the river from Mill Spring, but Wil- 
liamsville is a better point for starting on a river trip. From Wil- 
liamsville to Poplar Bluff, the stream is quite rapid, and this portion 
of the run is quickly made. Then follows a stretch of still water, to 
the head of Big Island, where Tom River cuts across a great bend to 

—49— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

enter the main stream, miles below. At this point, the current in- 
creases, but below Big Island it grows slack again, and to make 
speed, it is necessary to do considerable hard paddling until the 
junction with Current River is reached, when the remainder of the 
long voyage can be floated leisurely over without difficulty. Black 
River has been long and favorably known by hunters and anglers, 
but in most instances they have only visited points along its course, 
and it is to be doubted if its entire length has ever been run by a 
party of sportsmen. Yet, it is a trip that would repay bountifully the 
necessary expense of time and trouble. The river traverses below 
Williamsville, Wayne and Butler Counties in Missouri, and Clay, 
Randolph, and Lawrence, in Arkansas, also forming the boundary 
between Independence and Jackson Counties to the point where it 
enters the White River at Jacksonport. It is well stocked with game 
fish throughout its length, runs for nearly the entire distance 
through a good game country, and a canoe voyage down its winding 
course would be an experience worthy of being remembered while 
life lasts. 

The White river is by all odds the grandest of Arkansian streams, 
and particularly so if viewed from a sportsman's standpoint. Rising 
in the Boston mountains, it sweeps in a grand curve through the 
wildest region of Southern Missouri, re-enters Arkansas, and winds 
for hundreds of miles amid the most picturesque scenery of the 
central States, bordered on either hand by rugged hills and frowning 
cliffs, until, after passing Batesville, it hides itself in the canebrakes 
and swamps, and steals cautiously along to its far-distant confluence 
with the Mississippi. The thorough exploration of this stream would 
occupy the better part of an entire season, and though the current is 
rapid, and the channel clear, it would take several weeks to traverse 
the river from source to mouth, even in the swiftest running of 
canoes. For such a trip, the sportsman should provide himself with 
a variety of arms, and a well-filled tackle box, for he is certain to 
come in contact with game and fish of all descriptions known to this 
vast region. The head of White river can be reached by a short 
wagon trip across the mountain from Ozark, a station on the Little 
Rock & Ft. Smith Division, but the upper stream is so narrow and 

—50— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

rapid, that its navigation would be difficult and attended by some- 
thing more than a spice of danger. Twenty miles from its source, 
White river is still a mere thread of surging silver, boiling and foam- 
ing around and over great boulders at the bottom of a sunless 
gorge; but every ravine In that favored country has its spring-fed 
rivulet, and as each adds its tribute to the larger stream, it swells 
in volume, until, in time, it becomes more worthy of its ambitious 
title. 

Shortly it is joined by War Eagle Fork and Kings River, either of 
them nearly as long and as large as the so-called Main White, and 
then the river loses in a measure its turbulent nature, grows broader 
and deeper, and its course becomes less tortuous and rock-impeded. 
Canoeists who have traversed the more rapid streams of the North 
Woods and Canada, would doubtless enjoy tracing out the wander- 
ings of this erratic waterway, and in the rugged defiles of the Bos- 
ton mountains would find many things worthy of their attention. 
If, in their everyday home life they have come to know the value of 
the different varieties of marketable lumber, they will, no doubt, 
feel interested to find that this region still possesses great groves of 
giant walnut and cherry and millions upon millions of feet of the 
choicest white oak; if they are mineralogists, they will trace with 
enthusiasm the outcroppings of lead, zinc and other metals; if 
they have a fondness for subterranean explorations, they will find 
the hills honeycombed with caverns of unknown depth and extent. 
At all events they will know no periods of enforced idleness, for 
they will be traversing waters as yet unwhipped by the angler's fly, 
and on either hand, the forests will offer an abundance of game of 
all descriptions. 

Below Fayetteville, the valley of the White widens, and for a 
time the craft of the voyagers will float between gentle slopes given 
up in a measure to the cultivation of grain and fruit. A few leagues 
farther on, however, the character of the country again changes, 
towering bluffs abut directly upon the stream, and it becomes a 
succession of rapids. From this point onward, for many miles, 
progress will be sufficiently rapid to please the most restless of 
minds. Ever onward, the great volume of crystal water rushes, past 

—52— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

Eureka Springs, crossing the border line into Missouri, past For- 
sythe, the head of high water steamboat navigation, through Stone 
and Taney Counties, rich in romantic scenery, and replete with 
traditions of guerilla warfare, and the Bald Knobber troubles, until, 
by a southward turn, the State line is again reached, and the ex- 
plorers find themselves once more in Arkansas. 

Meanwhile, the White has been joined by numerous tributaries of 
importance, and at Lone Rock, under the shadow of Mount Matney, 
the North Fork comes in, bringing with it the drainage of that great 
hill region known as the Ozark Mountains. The White has now 
become a river indeed, grand in volume and resistless in current, 
while its scenery surpasses that of the upper Hudson. The mighty 
stream rolls onward between beetling, cliffs, its silent depths ad- 
mitting the passage of large steamboats, and anglers will find that 
its waters are figuratively alive with the finest of game fish. Pass- 
ing on, the sportsman should stop and admire the famous painted 
rocks at Calico Bluff, and if he desires to make a short excursion 
inland, he would do well to visit the limestone caves on Sycamore 
Creek, and the manganese mines near Cushman. He may cling to 
his shotgun meanwhile, for it is well to remember that so long as he 
is in Arkansas, he is never out of reach of game, and the best of 
sport is sometimes encountered when least expected. 

At Batesville the White passes Into the low grounds of Eastern 
Arkansas, and the mountains are left behind, but the hours spent 
by the tourist in this the first half of his voyage will never be for- 
gotten. He is now nearly two hundred miles below the upper limit 
of steamboat travel, counting as the river runs, and most of this 
distance has been traversed amid scenery surpassing that along any 
other navigable stream east of the Rocky mountains. Of Arkansas' 
mountain scenery, very little is known outside the State, but a rich 
harvest awaits the literary wight who shall first catch with his 
camera and describe with facile pencil the many points of beauty 
and interest lying along the cliff-shadowed White, between its source 
and the point where it leaves the hills to wander through forest and 
brake to the distant Mississippi. 

—53— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

Up to this time the voyager has had occasion to use a shotgun 
more frequently than a rifle, but after passing Newport, some miles 
below the mouth of Black River, he enters the big game country 
proper, and, if he started upon his trip in the early autumn, it is 
now in the height of the deer shooting season. All his surroundings 
are changed. Instead of hills and rocks, he is now passing through 
a dead level country, diversified only by cypress swamps and 
stretches of cane-brake. Much of the land on either side of the river 
is subject to annual overflows, and if he should sojourn in this 
country until the dead of winter, the sportsman will probably awake 
some morning to find himself in the midst of a woodland sea. Pass- 
ing on down the broad stream, he occasionally encounters planta- 
tions, and now and then a town of some consequence, but during 
the greater part of his course, he is surrounded by a perfect wilder- 
ness, in which the only signs of human presence are the high stumps 
that tell of the visits of cypress choppers, and an occasional half- 
wild cow or hog, only momentarily seen as they dash away in frantic 
terror at his approach. It is a long run from Newport to Augusta, 
where the Memphis branch crosses the river, and the next town 
below is Des Arc, one of the oldest places in that portion of the 
State, but possessing fewer inhabitants now than in the good old 
days of steamboat traflic, twenty years ago. The next town is 
Devalls Bluff, at the lower end of Grand Prairie, then Clarendon, 
Mt. Adams, Crockett's Bluff — the chosen home and hunting ground 
of Colonel Bob Crockett, grandson of that great hunter and states- 
man who died for Texan independence in the Alamo — Indian Bay, 
and St. Charles. Forty or fifty miles below this point, the Missis- 
sippi is reached, and the long voyage is at an end, but from Newport 
to this point the hunter and angler has discovered so much of 
attractive country, and his time has been so pleasantly passed, that 
it is safe to say that no party will ever accomplish the entire trip 
in a single season. 

The Buffalo Fork of the White River, rising also in the Boston 
mountain region, is in itself worthy of extended notice. It is a 
typical mountain stream, and one of the most turbulent in the State. 
Its navigation has been attempted, but never successfully. Several 

—55— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

years since, S. D. Barnes, a well-known writer for the sportsman's 
journals, accompanied by Harry Esslinger, another woodsman of 
experience, essayed its exploration, were caught in one of its many 
dangerous rapids, and barely escaped with their lives, losing their 
boat, camera, and other valuables. Buffalo Fork enters the main 
stream some twenty miles above the mouth of North Fork. 

Cache River takes its head in the swamps of Southern Missouri, 
and runs in a southerly course, entering White River at Clarendon. 
It runs the entire way through the flat woods and swamps, and its 
navigation is impeded by drifts of fallen timber, except after the 
commencement of the winter rains. The Knobel Branch of the Iron 
Mountain Route crosses it at Cache Station, and it can also be 
reached from different points on the main line, Walnut Ridge being 
the most desirable place to outfit for a long trip. With light wooden 
or canvas boats, the stream could be easily traversed, and the deer 
or bear hunter could hardly undertake a more promising trip. 

The hunting and fishing along the St. Francis has been mentioned 
at length in another connection, and it is unnecessary to dwell upon 
it here. The stream has more than a local reputation, and the 
forests along its course can be conscientiously recommended to 
visiting sportsmen who love wildfowl shooting, or are anxious to 
try their rifles on large game. In only a few instances have North- 
ern hunters visited the country along the lower St. Francis, and 
much of this vast region is comparatively unknown. 

At Judsonia, the railroad crosses Little Red river, a stream noted 
for its abundance of fish. Its source is in Van Buren and Searcy 
Counties, and from its head spring to its mouth, is deserving of the 
notice of hunters and anglers. The river is navigable by small 
steamboats as far as Searcy, but above this point it is very rapid 
and shallow, running over a gravelly bed. An enjoyable trip would 
be from Clinton, in Van Buren County, where boats could be built 
or purchased, to some point on White River, thus affording a variety 
of sport, from angling for small mouth black bass to shooting deer 
and bear in the blue cane of the swamp region. 

Fishing and wildfowl shooting is generally good on the Arkansas, 
from Ft. Smith, where it enters the State, to its mouth, but as the 

—56— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

river runs a greater portion of tlie way througli a rich agricultural 
region, most sportsmen prefer visiting a stream with wilder sur- 
roundings. Still, after passing Little Rock, there are broad stretches 
of swampland abounding in deer, bear and other large game, and it 
is a well-known fact that some of the best hunting grounds in the 
State lie contiguous to this its largest stream. The best part of the 
river for the hunter of big game is found between Pine Bluff and 
its mouth, and the sportsman who visits that locality will find he 
has made no mistake in the selection of a hunting ground. 

In the regular enumeration of Arkansas rivers crossed by the 
Iron Mountain Route, the Saline properly comes next, and though 
little known to sportsmen, it is as well deserving of attention as 
many of its sister streams. It is a tributary of the Washita, and a 
river of considerable length, taking its rise in the hills south of the 
Arkansas, and flowing in a southeast course through Saline, Grant, 
Cleveland, and Bradley Counties, in all of which the wild lands fur- 
nish an ample supply of deer, turkey, and smaller game. The 
Washita, or Ouachita, as the name is spelled along the lower course 
of the stream, is in reality the grandest river of Southern Arkansas. 
It heads in the mountainous wilderness of Montgomery and Polk 
Counties, a country renowned for its big game, and flows in a 
southeasterly course over gold-bearing sands to its junction with 
Red river, in Central Louisiana. To describe its many windings, 
or to treat with any degree of prolixity of the country it traverses, 
would necessitate the use of more space than can be given the 
subject here. It is fed by many subordinate streams, the most 
important being the Caddo, Little Missouri, Bayou Moro, and Saline, 
in Arkansas, and the Bayou D'Arbonne, Boeuf river, and Black river, 
in Louisiana, and could be navigated by cabin boats at any season 
of the year from a point far above Hot Springs. The Washita 
Valley is credited with affording the best quail shooting to be had 
in the South, and there are deer and turkey in abundance in the wild 
lands along the entire length of the stream. The best deer shooting 
in Louisiana is probably in the pine woods adjacent to the Washita, 
and in the country around Catahoula Lake, a region easily accessible 
by the branch of the Iron Mountain Route, now extending to 

—58— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

Alexandria in that State. It is a country but little visited by 
sportsman tourists, who, as a rule, are content to enjoy the hunting 
and fishing to be found nearer home, but in a few years, Louisiana 
will be given recognition as she deserves, and be generally admitted 
as being the best game country in the Union. Anglers and hunters 
should, before deciding upon their plans for a coming vacation, 
examine a good map of Arkansas and Louisiana, trace the course of 
the Washita river, and fully consider its claims upon their attention. 

The Red river, and its tributary known as Little river, are both 
well worthy of a visit. Little river has a reputation known all over 
the State for the size and number of the black bear that frequent 
the brakes along its banks, and through the country it traverses a 
good hound can jump a deer at any time on a few moments' notice. 
Hounds are almost indispensable to the hunter on these Southern 
streams, as the thickets are very dense, and most of the shooting is 
necessarily done on runways, and ahead of dogs. Hunting packs 
are kept by nearly all local gunners, whose cooperation can be 
readily obtained at a small expense. It is rarely advisable for the 
sportsman to carry his own dogs with him, for they are trouble- 
some, cause a great deal of expense in transportation, and if valua- 
ble should not be permitted to run in a country infested by wolves, 
panthers, and droves of wild hogs, more dangerous to canine life 
than either. Setters and pointers that are not wide rangers will 
be in little danger, since their owner's presence will act as a safe- 
guard, but if they are in the habit of making long casts for game, 
or if they should have a fondness for chasing Mollycottontails, it 
would be better to leave them in the safety of their kennels, since 
otherwise they are more than apt to "come up missing" before the 
hunt terminates. 

Speaking in a general way, if the sportsman intends to confine 
his wanderings to the hill regions of Missouri and Arkansas, he 
need only supply himself with a light shotgun, and a supply of fish- 
ing tackle, but if he ventures down in the swamps, it is necessary to 
bring a firearm heavy enough for the largest game, and, above all, 
a good, reliable pocket compass. The importance of this precaution 
will, perhaps, be better understood and appreciated from the state- 
ment that the woodsmen best acquainted with the country usually 

—60— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



carry compasses, while those who do not, very often wish them- 
selves better provided. In the overflow regions, there are practically 
no permanent landmarks, except the windings of the streams and 
the location of the scattered lakes. The country is everywhere the 
same, a succession of overcup and gum flats, cow oak ridges and 
canebrakes; and as the ridges, so-called, are elevated only a few 
inches above the surrounding country, the importance of keeping 
one's correct bearing becomes self-evident. The action of the over- 
flow moves the fallen timber in every direction, and a log which 
once pointed directly towards camp may be turned in exactly the 
opposite direction before the next season comes around. To adopt 
an old Texan axiom, which in its original freshness related to a 
"six-pistol": "A fellow may go a long time without needing a com- 
pass, but if he ever does need one, he needs it powerful bad." How- 
ever, the hunter who travels by canoe or skiff, and keeps close to the 
stream in his rambles, will avoid in most instances the discomforts 
of losing himself; and even if forced to spend a night beyond the 
sight of his camp fire, he has nothing but 
enforced loneliness to dread, and the 
experience is one that he will 
remember with pleasure in 
the years to come. 




A Hunter's Shack in the 
Bottoms, Ark. 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



Game of Texas and the Gulf Coast* 

THE Iron Mountain Railroad affords the most direct through 
route to the Gulf Coast, where, from the mouth of the Mis- 
sissippi to that of the Rio Grande, the lagoons and inlets 
swarm in winter with myriads of water fowl driven by the harsh 
breath of old Boreas from their nesting grounds in the far North. 
With the first days of November, brigades of teal and wood ducks 
(the skirmish line of the legions to follow) make their appearance 
as if by magic, and a few days later their numbers are recruited by 
scattered flocks of mallards and pin-tails. Later on the red-heads 
and canvas-backs follow; then the geese, and, last of all, a noisy 
rear-guard of cranes. Meanwhile the grassy marshes, back of the 
line of sand dunes, are filling up with clouds of plover and snipe, 
while herons and white plumed egrets stalk in their midst like staid 
but curious giants inspecting an army of pigmies. Game birds and 
wild fowl, they are all here, after having run the gauntlet of a 
thousand guns; but their safety is far from being assured, for sports- 
men will go far to enjoy exactly the sort of shooting that can be 
had here, and modern methods of travel have placed the utmost 
limits of American territory within easy reach of the gunner of only 
moderate means. 

In the shallow water, beyond the broad reaches of shell-strewn 
sand, huge tarpons are sporting amid the shoals of mullet, their 
great scales reflecting back the rays of the sun with that white 
lustrous glow that has won for this monarch of game fish the title 
of "Silver King." The charm of angling with rod and reel for fish 
with the fighting qualities of a bass and the weight of the largest 
of Mississippi "cats," annually attracts many fishermen to the gulf 
towns of Louisiana and Texas, but they are in other ways amply 
repaid for their long journey and the fatigue of many hours spent 
on the water. Mullet, sea trout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, pom- 
pano, and a host of other fishes, are as plentiful as "top-swimmers" 

—62— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

in a "back North" carp pond, and red snapper can be taken farther 
out where the water attains to the depth of ten or twelve fathoms. 

Galveston bay, Matagorda bay, and other points where tarpon fish- 
ing is usually good, can be reached via the through Pullman service 
on the Iron Mountain system; and from Galveston, Velasco, Rock- 
port, Aransas Pass and Corpus Christi, the most popular fishing re- 
sorts of Southwestern Texas can be visited by short railway trips 
through a region unexcelled for its fresh water fishing and wing 
shooting. From Alexandria a line has lately been built to Watkins 
at the mouth of the Calcasieu river, or Calcasieu Pass, and here, too, 
good fishing can be obtained, as well as the choicest of shooting at 
nearly all varieties of feathered game. 

Aside from its angling and wild-fowl shooting, Texas offers many 
attractions to the visiting sports, for in many places its western 
prairies still abound with antelope and deer. In the mountain ranges 
adjoining the Pecos and Rio Grande there are Mexican lions, leopard 
cats or ocelots, and bears, while occasionally droves of peccaries or 
Mexican hogs are encountered, though they are now becoming very 
scarce and hard of approach. Lobo wolves and coyotes are com- 
monly found in all that vast region west of the Brazos and would 
afford excellent sport if hunted with properly trained hounds. Of 
feathered game, the uplands in the interior of the State can still 
show a fair sprinkling of turkeys, and there are localities in which 
prairie chickens are abundant; but quail is the game most commonly 
hunted, and they can be found by thousands everywhere. The 
mesquite prairies between San Antonio and the coast fairly swarm 
with them, and among so many localities where they can be readily 
kTlled in any desired numbers it would be difficult to name one 
possessing particular advantages. 



—63- 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



The Best Place of AIL 

IN selecting a locality for au outing the sportsman should take 
into consideration the size of his party and past experience of its 
members, and the length of time that it is proposed to remain 
in the woods, as well as the kinds of game or fish to be taken, and 
the methods to be secured in taking them. If deer hunting is the 
prime object of the trip, and rifles the weapons intended to be used, 
it would be well to wait until late in the season, when the leaves 
are down and it is possible to secure standing shots with time for 
deliberate aim. Therefore the scene of the hunt must be located 
outside the overflow lands, because at that time of the year tlie 
deer have been driven from the overflow by the high water. On the 
other hand shotguns are most effective before the leaves have fallen, 
or in the thick cane of the bottom lands, for there is nothing like a 
handful of buckshot for quick work at close quarters. Again a party 
of men thoroughly unacquainted with the "ways of the woods," 
would be better off encamped in the midst of a wilderness with a 
guide to look after those that lose themselves, than if more com- 
fortably domiciled at some boarding house in a railroad town with 
saddle horses to carry them on long daily jaunts through the best 
territory available. 

There are places where still-hunting is possible, and others where 
it is difficult to kill deer without the aid of dogs to chevy them from 
the thick undergrowth and cane. In a word, whatever style or man- 
ner of hunting may be desired, it may be easily and certainly found 
within a radius of a few miles from any of the big game ranges in 
the preceding pages. To choose at random among the points en- 
dorsed as "good" will be like investing in a lottery that has no 
blanks and many capital prizes, but it is a course that can be adopted 
without misgivings, while it is needless to say, that it lies beyond 
the power of mortal man to name the "best of all places," though 
this little bit of information is earnestly required with the first 
move towards preparing for the autumnal hunt. It is well to bear 

—65— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 

in mind, however, that the best hunting for big game is usually 
found in the neighborhood of the larger rivers, and that while deer 
and turkeys may be found in the vicinity of first-class quail shoot- 
ing, this plump and fleet-winged little game bird is rarely in the 
lower bottoms where the annual overflows forbid successful farming, 
and the black bear and panther roams the brake in fearless freedom. 
The angler may select the scene of his outing anywhere along 
the larger streams of Arkansas and Louisiana, and without mis- 
givings of the success that awaits him. If he comes from a distance, 
and especially if his visit is made in the early spring months, he 
should select a locality where he will be convenient to lakes in case 
rains and consequent freshets should interfere with fishing in the 
streams. He should come well provided with good, strong tackle, 
and should not pin his faith to one lone rod, however much of a 
favorite it may be. There are "rod-breakers" in the waters of 
"Old Rackensack," and in those of the State which joins it on the 
south, and it is always well to provide for contingencies. 

If the sportsman should desire more specific information than 
these short paragraphs afford him, it would be well to get in cor- 
respondence with some resident hunter able and willing to act as 
his guide, and trust to him the arrangement of the campaign and 
the selection of its scene. This, for reason stated further on, can 
be recommended as the best possible course to pursue. While guides 
may not be strictly classified as necessaries to a well-regulated hun- 
ter's camp, they are luxuries that most sportsmen can afford, par- 
ticularly as their presence often proves a saving in time and labor, 
and generally secures success in attaining the object sought. 




—66— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



General Remarks* 

As a rule, sportsmen who intend remaining in the woods for any 
considerable length of time, usually prefer to build a cabin 
or pitch a tent in some desirable spot where they can enjoy 
themselves to their heart's content, and in their own way, isolated 
for a space from the outer world and heedless alike of its cares and 
customs. Perhaps, in no other way can the majority of hunters and 
anglers enjoy, to so great an extent, the pleasure of a long antici- 
pated, and ofttimes, hard-earned vacation. Granted a comfortable 
tent fitted with all the necessaries of life, and located in the midst 
of a region teeming with game and fish, and the sportsman will 
come to appreciate more thoroughly than ever before how few and 
fleeting are the hours that lie between the rising and setting of a 
November's sun. There is a subtle charm about camp life that wins 
its way with all. The frugal breakfast, hurriedly prepared and as 
hurriedly discussed before the stars have faded in the west, is more 
tempting to the palate than an epicurean feast, while the long, 
pleasant evenings, when tired limbs are stretched in the camp fire's 
glow and the incidents of the past day are lived over again, will 
linger in the sportsman's memory until sturdy saplings have sprung 
up through the ashes that once sparkled before the tent, and hands 
that held rifle and rod with nervous grasp are palsied with the frosts 
of age. 

But though the establishment of a permanent camp has its im- 
portant advantages, there are drawbacks that are also worthy of 
consideration. Many of the best points for hunting and fishing are 
difficult to reach when encumbered with a heavy tent and camp 
equipage. More than this, big game will sometimes drift from a 
locality where a short time ago it was quite abundant (and this, too, 
without any apparent reason for such a move) ; and after everything 
has been made snug and comfortable about camp, there is a natural 
and strong reluctance to pull up stakes and seek other and more 
promising fields. A good deal of this annoyance can be avoided by 

—67— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

postponing the hunt until the season is well advanced and the acorns 
have begun to fall, for, after the "running" or mating season is at 
its height, deer are not liable to change their feeding grounds if the 
food supply is ample to supply their wants. November first is per- 
haps quite early enough for deer hunting in the latitude of Central 
Arkansas, though the season opens three months earlier, and the 
game is easier of approach than after the date mentioned. Before 
tis time, however, the movements of game are so uncertain that the 
most experienced of hunters are frequently puzzled to account for 
them, while to foresee them is quite out of the question. The fact 
that game was abundant in a certain range last year or the year 
before, cannot be accepted as positive proof that it will be found in 
that locality this year in the same abundance. There are nine 
chances in ten that such will be the case, but the tenth chance 
should not be overlooked. It is just here that the services of a 
guide become invaluable, particularly for parties who are making 
their first visit to the woods; while in the case of those who have 
already some acquaintance with the residents of the locality they 
propose visiting, the same end can be gained by writing in advance 
to some hunter for specific information. 

A very good method to pursue upon a first visit to the woods, or 
at any time when the sportsman has not more than a single com- 
panion, is to secure lodgings with some accommodating farmer or 
timberman and turn to account his knowledge of the neighboring 
forests. Many of the settlers own welHrained deer and bear dogs, 
and the outlay of a few dollars will secure the co-operation of the 
dogs and their owner, thus changing a mere chance of killing game 
to something approaching a certainty. Of course there is ever an 
element of uncertainty existing, until the hunter has proven by 
actual tests his ability to kill game when it is run "right slap 
over him," but when the cause of failure rests with the sportsman 
himself he is not apt to blame the country, its game, or the parties 
who induced him to visit the one in search of the other. In case a 
hunting party consists of three or more members, unaccompanied 
by a guide, it is still advisable to pitch their tent close to the dwel- 
ling of the timberman or farmer aforesaid, and for reasons pre- 
viously mentioned. 

—68— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

A third plan of procedure is to build a cabin-boat near tlie head- 
waters of one of the streams and float downward with the current, 
finding something of interest to the sportsman in every mile of its 
course. A skiff or large canoe is sometimes used in place of the 
larger craft, accomplishing a longer distance in a specified time, but 
entailing more of hardship and exposure upon the voyagers. The 
size of a cabin-boat is only limited by the width of the smaller 
streams in which it is to be used, or by the amount of money set 
apart for its purchase or construction, and its cost is comparatively 
small compared with the advantages of a floating camp of ample 
size to furnish living and sleeping room for three or four men. 
With such a craft the choicest of hunting and fishing grounds can 
be reached, and as the fall rains flood the low grounds, forcing out 
the deer from their summer range, the creeks and bayous afford 
splendid cruising grounds, with assurance of a rich harvest on the 
outlying cane ridge now transformed into miniature islands, each 
with its four-footed Crusoes awaiting the subsidence of the floods. 

In this connection it will, perhaps, be interesting to read the 
account of a cabin-boat trip down White river, undertaken and ac- 
complished in the autumn of 1892, by two sportsmen from a North- 
ern State. The particulars, as given, were originally prepared by 
one of the gentlemen for publication in a sportsmen's journal, from 
memoranda jotted down on the "voyage," and may be accepted as 
mirroring with remarkable fidelity the every-day occurrences of a 
delightful trip. 



y^ 

—69— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



cA Cabtn-^oat Trip Do'wn White ^ver, 

ALLAN started southward October 28, and three days later 
I followed to join him at Little Rock. My train into St. 
Louis was late, and I had scarcely time left for purchasing 
my ticket over the Iron Mountain Route and attending to my bag- 
gage, but by a good deal of rushing, I managed all right, saw every- 
thing stowed in the baggage car and my Irish setter tied to the 
biggest trunk, and was climbing into the smoker when a thought 
suddenly struck me. Allan had proposed wiring me at St. Louis 
of any change of plan. Possibly I had been a bit neglectful in not 
inquiring for a telegram. 

A rush to the Western Union's room ; back to the smoker, and then 
the train was under motion. I had found a telegram — luckily it 
was prepaid, for I would have had no time for making change. 
Tearing it open, I read as follows: 

"To Frank S., Union Depot, St. Louis, Mo.: 

Stop at Newport. Have got a sure thing worth millions. 

Allan D." 

This was highly encouraging, though somewhat vague; neverthe- 
less, I was glad to learn that there was even a prospect of sport 
ahead. I consulted my folder and found that Newport was on the 
main line, at or near the crossing of White river, eighty-five miles 
north of Little Rock. Then I lighted my cigar and puffed compla- 
cently until the conductor came along, when I acquainted him with 
the change in my destination and requested him to share the infor- 
mation with the monarch of the baggage car. After this I felt en- 
titled to a bit of intelligence in return, and, as it happened, the con- 
ductor was able and willing to answer in a very few words the half 
dozen queries that I propounded. 

"Yes; good place to stop off. Hunting everywhere. All sorts of 
game, from bear to snowbirds. Go up towards Batesville if you 

—71— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISKING GROUNDS. 

want quail — see you've got a fine dog in the baggage car. Better 
hunt deer, though; there's more fun in it. Next — Ticket, please." 

I smoked, inventoried my fellow passengers and found a fair 
sprinkling of sportsmen — incipient or pronounced — but none from 
Arkansas; and then went back to the sleeper till the porter aroused 
me at five o'clock with the information that Newport was only 
thirty minutes away. 

It was not yet day when we slowed up at the depot, but Allan was 
on hand, and had a drayman ready to take my baggage. 

"Where's Pat; did you bring him?" 

"He's in the baggage car. How's the pup?" 

"Square as a barrel-hoop. Here, you fellow, look lively there and 
get the trunk over. There, I'll lead the dog and take your gun. 
Bring your grip in your hand." 

"How far's the hotel?" 

"Hotel, nothing; it's a country residence, and we're sole pro- 
prietors. Come on — right across the track." 

The drayman drove away to a crossing farther down, but we 
lugged our loads across a half-dozen tracks, stumbled a few yards 
over soft, yielding turf, and found ourselves on the bank of a big 
river, the farther side of which was obscured in the gloom. Below 
us I could see the gleam of flowing water, and a dark blotch that 
looked like the roof of a house with a glow of ruby-colored fire- 
light showing through a foot square window. 

"Hello, Bud! Lend a hand with this luggage, will you? The 
bank is a bit steep for us greenhorns." 

It was a "bit steep" — if straight up and down is "steep" — and 
how the two trunks were lowered down that twenty foot bluff I 
never learned. Of my own descent I shall say nothing, save that 
it was accomplished with all due celerity, and that the momentum 
I acquired carried me over a short gang plank, through a narrow 
doorway, and almost over a small kitchen stove that was unex- 
pectedly encountered. I don't think the stove was injured in the 
collision, for it stood sufficiently rigid to repel my charge, but it 
was certainly the warmest stove for its size and looks that I ever 
saw. 

—72— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 
I stumbled to a folding cot. and sat down to collect my scattered 
thoughts, while Allan busied himself collecting the contents of 
my grip, which had suffered more than its owner. A small brass 
lamp was burning dimly on a rude table in one corner of the little 
room, but its light was insufficient, so Allan lighted a campaign 
torch swinging by a wire from the ceiling. Then I had an oppor- 
tunity for looking around, but could gather no satisfactory knowl- 
edge from the scrutiny. ^ 

"Cabin-boat." said Allan, replying to my look of inquiry. She s 
small, but I think she'll answer. Twenty feet long, over all. Twelve 
foot beam. Cabin, twelve by twelve." 

So this was a cabin-boat. In an ordinary state of mind I might 
have understood all this; but just now I was slightly rattled. 

"It was a happy thought of mine -don't you think so? I 3ust 
stopped off here a minute to look around, and the first thing I saw 
was the 'Palace.' That's her name, you know." 

I was growing more and more mystified. I opened the door and 
attempted to pass out. but paused at the threshold. In front of 
me, and seemingly on every side, there was water.^ 
Beyond the doorway the bow extended a scant 
four feet, nothing but a platform without 
bulwarks, a stout pin, to serve as a row-lock 
on either side, while 
the long oars hung 
on hooks over the 
door. It was day- 
light now, and I could 
see that the boat 
had cast loose from 
the shore and swung 
into midstream, head- 
ing downward. On 
the left bank were 
the white walled 
houses of Newport 

on the right a house boat on white river, ark. 

—73— 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

thin fringe of willows and sycamores; beyond them an opening 
which might be a cultivated field or a swampy lake, I could not tell 
which. My two trunks were on the boat's bow — extremely close 
to the edge it seemed to me; Pat, the Irish setter, still chained, 
crowded between them. In the water, dead ahead, floated a tree 
trunk with one ragged limb that threatened to rake dog and trunks 
from the boat. I made a step forward with some hazy idea of 
averting the catastrophe, but just then the craft on which I stood 
swung sharply to the right, passing the obstruction without touch- 
ing. 

"Who's steering this ark?" I inquired of Allan, who had joined 
me. 

"Bud, the former owner of the Palace. He is a fisherman and 
a trapper; one of three who built the boat on upper Black river, 
intending to spend the winter in the woods. They reached Newport 
all right, and then the other two went on a spree, and are locked 
up on a charge of attempt to kill, which will insure them warm 
quarters until the spring term of court. I bought the craft of Bud 
for twenty dollars, and for twenty more he is to stay with us till 
our hunt is over." 

We went back into the diminutive cabin and called Bud to join 
us. He was a typical backwoodsman, tall and lank, with straw 
colored beard that clung closely to his lantern jaws, and spread, in 
a thin fringe, over the breast of his black overshirt. His age 
neither of us attempted to guess, but he was certainly past middle 
age, and though his strength was considerable, his movements 
were commonly slower than those of many an octogenarian. He 
shook hands cordially, spoke flatteringly of the "purty dorg" I had 
brought on board with me, examined my hammerless Greener, and 
commented on the "sure enuff wire barrels," and then busied him- 
self in the preparation of breakfast, while- Allan and I got my 
trunks inside, and took Pat back to the dry goods box, at the stern, 
which he was to share in company with Allan's "Pup," a foxhound 
of uncertain age, but many accomplishments. 

Meanwhile the boat had been floating at will with the current, 
broadside and stern on, as often as in the proper way, but Bud was 

—74— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

keeping a weather eye open, and if danger threatened from contact 
with either shore or a floating log, a powerful sweep of the single 
steering oar would set us right again without delay. At length, 
after a glance ahead, our "Man Friday" informed us that a "hull 
passel" of ducks were floating close to the right shore, and that we 
were fast nearing thorn. Here was a chance for a first shot at 
Arkansan game. The ducks were certainly there, and if there was 
not a "hull passel," there must have been at least a half of one. 

"Mallards," muttered Allan; "Let her float on till they rise; then 
pick your bird and make a sure shot." 

Buit the ducks did not rise. Perhaps they thought our 
craft was a "runaway" without crew or pilot; at all events, 
they just sidled out of our way a bit with the evident inten- 
tion of letting us pass. Just as we were even, we sprang into 
view, with a yell that put a hundred wings in instant motion, and 
our first barrels rang out together. I don't know how many ducks 
fell, for the number of those down were augmented next instant 
by a second harvest from the demoralized flock, but there were 
ten plump mallards to retrieve when the smoke had cleared. Bud 
gathered them in with the aid of a canvas boat that lay, already 
stretched, on the sloping roof of our cabin; and as Allan and I 
piled them together in a heap on the floor, we registered a vow 
to shoot no more ducks until the day before our return, and I am 
glad to say that we kept our resolutions in spite of temptations 
such as few gunners are ever called upon to resist. 

"We're gittin' clus ter ther railroad bridge," said Bud a few 
minutes later. "There's good quail shootin', in a big field on ther 
right. Ef you'l take that bird dorg of yourn in that field, you'll 
kill a bushel in an hour." I looked at Allan inquiringly, but he 
shook his head, 

"We're not here to exterminate all the small game in the 
country," he said, "big game is what we're after, and outside of 
killing a few squirrels or birds for our own use, we'll stick to big 
game exclusively. Just now our larder is pretty plentifully sup- 
plied with fresh meat" — with a glance at the pile of mallards — 
"and I favor letting the quail slide." And so they slid. 

—75— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

That night we tied up our boat in an eddy at the mouth of a dry 
slough, undoubtedly quite a river itself in a time of high water. We 
had floated many miles during the day, but the river's bends were 
many and sharp, and it seemed to us that our actual progress had 
been but small. Bud assured us there was game in the vicinity, 
and so. more to please him than for any other reason, we landed 
and made a short detour through the woods. 

The sun was down, but enough of daylight remained to permit 
us to examine the footprints, marking the soft earth on every hand, 
but our ignorance of woodcraft prevented us from gleaning haFf 
the significance of the tell-tale marks. There were squirrel tracks 
everywhere — we recognized those at a glance. Then there were 
other tracks of the same size, but rounder and deeper; others 
longer and resembling the print of a baby's foot, except that the 
marks of long claws were plainly evident. "Minks and coons," re- 
marked Allan. 

By this time I had made a discovery of more importance and I 
was not long in making the fact known. A bear had walked along 
the water's edge, in the soft mud. Bruin had entered the water, 
presumably to drink, then waded along for a distance, and returned 
to the cane, heading towards the river. The tracks were not par- 
ticularly fresh, but the fact of their existence was quite enough for 
us. Further on the discovery was duplicated, and as there was 
a noticeable difference in the size of the tracks, our spirits rose 
still higher. There was certainly two bears in the vicinity — or 
there had been within the last forty-eight hours. 

"We'll look for them in the morning," said Allan, as we turned 
away. "It's too late to find 'em to-night." 

"Lucky for us that it is," I replied, "for we haven't a charge of 
buckshot with us." 

It was a fact. In Bud's anxiety to drive us ashore, he had hurried 
us out with nothing in the way of ammunition, save the shells in 
our guns. Four loads of duck shot in a range where bears were as 
plentiful as flies in August. 

We again pushed our way across the cane ridge, but the forest of 
"fish poles" seemed taller than before, and we were longer in 

—76— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 

reaching the farther side. At length we burst forth into an open- 
ing, but it was only a narrow one; a sort of dry slough, with the 
cane beyond higher and thicker than ever. 

"We've missed our way a little," remarked my friend. "Suppose 
we follow this slough, it is easier walking and must lead us to the 
river." 

We turned to the right in the direction indicated, and then some- 
thing happened. In the midst of the rattle of flying hoofs and 
breaking cane four shots rang out in quick succession, and we 
stood in mortified silence looking blankly in each other's faces. I 
was the first to speak. 

"It was a big buck. I saw his horns." 

"And we shot him with chilled sixes," replied Allan. "Let's go 
back to the boat." 

That was our first shot at deer. We were both willing and 
anxious to tie up at that particular landing for a month, or until 
we had loaded the boat with venison and bear meat; but Bud, in his 
superior wisdom, willed that it should be otherwise. He admitted 
that there was some game in the vicinity, but not enough to "fool" 
with. It would pay us to drop farther down the river where the 
bottoms were wider and big game more plentiful. So we floated on, 
occasionally landing to kill a squirrel or two — for we had given our 
ducks to a trapper who had passed by, going up the river in a 
dugout. The canvas boat was kept floating at the stern and proved 
very handy on many occasions, particularly when we wished to 
make a landing to inspect marks on the shores that our keen-eyed 
boatman suspicioned of being deer or bear tracks. A half dozen 
times we found spots that seemed, from all indications, to promise 
favorably for sport, but Bud was intractable and doggedly kept our 
craft in midstream, aiding the current at times with the long bow 
oars. 

"No use stoppin' afore we reach Ergusty," he would say. "Thar's 
some game along hyar, but we'uns want a heap of it." 

At length, Augusta was reached, and as we passed under the 
bridge of the Memphis Branch, we both heaved sighs of relief. We 
were a mile or two ahead of the cabin-boat at this point, trolling 
from the canvas boat for big mouth black bass and catching a good 

—77— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

many more than we cared to keep; but the river had a renewed 
interest for us now, and we dropped our rods and pulled on rapidly. 

Pulling on until we fancied ourselves as far as Bud could drift by 
midday, we landed on a sandbar, lifted our boat out and tilted it 
endwise against a log so that our guide could not pass without 
detecting it. Then we sallied forth in search of adventures, bearing 
directly away from the river through the open bottom — for there 
are broad belts of open oak woods interspersed between the cane 
brakes and lakes, and we had accidentally struck one of these clear 
strips, locally known as "overcup glades" from the overcup oaks 
that constitute their principal timber growth. 

The earth was hard and dry, for it was too early for the fall 
rains and not a respectable shower had fallen for weeks. A good 
many deer tracks could be found, but they were all very old. If a 
deer had passed that way within a week or ten days the closest 
of scrutiny failed to find evidence of the fact. Yet there were deer — 
lots of 'em — as we afterwards found, in this very range that we 
had stumbled upon by the merest chance, and it was not many min- 
utes before we had ocular proof of their existence. 

Without the slightest warning, a deer stood before us in the open 
glade and not a hundred yards distant. He may have been lying 
down and arose at the sound of our approach, or he might easily 
have been feeding there in plain sight of us both for several mo- 
ments before we saw him, for we were walking with extreme 
caution and there were but very few fallen leaves to rustle beneath 
our feet. However, we did not stop long to speculate on how the 
deer got in his present position. The fact that he was there was 
quite enough knowledge for one dose. We were content to accept 
matters as they stood and ask no questions. 

When the hero of a dime novel draws a bead on big game of any 
kind, the rifle barrel "trembles and wavers for an instant and then 
becomes rigid as a bar of steel." The barrel of my 45-90 was ex- 
actly as "rigid" as the aforesaid steel bar, but after it "wavered 
for an instant" it began wabbling and describing eccentric circles, 
making wheels, as it were, of which the deer constituted the hub. 
I dropped my arm, drew a long breath and then tried it again, but 
with no better results. 

—78— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

"Shoot, you idiot!" whispered Allan, fiercely, "He's going to run." 

I pulled the trigger, and, sure enough, the deer ran. I had ex- 
pected to see speed exhibited by a frightened deer, but this one 
managed to exceed my expectations. I emptied the magazine of my 
repeater, a short magazine holding only five cartridges — but when 
our game passed out of sight, around the end of a mudhole thickly 
grown with elbow brush, he was traveling as briskly as ever. 

I expected that Allan would comment on my poor marksmanship, 
but he had nothing to say. Instead he offered to carry the now 
empty rifle, and there was a certain peculiar twinkle in his eye that 
made me suspicion the friendliness of his thoughts. Was it possible 
that he was hugging himself over my ill-luck and looking ahead to 
the time when the first deer should be slain, and by his own un- 
erring hand. I believe it was this thought more than any hope of 
having touched the deer that prompted me to follow on and look for 
signs that my shots had taken effect. 

There was no blood where the game had stood when first discov- 
ered. A few hairs were scattered among the fallen leaves, but 
Allan suggested that they had been rubbed off against a tree as the 
deer turned. Further on we found where one of my bullets had 
entered a persimmon sapling eight feet from the ground. 

"Shooting too high," said I, "I have heard that that is a common 
occurrence with inexperienced shots." 

Allan said nothing, but pointed to a long furrow plowed in the 
earth a few yards beyond. I thought of accounting for this low 
shot by the fact that I had not raised my sights, but as it was made 
at point blank range — if there is such a thing — I concluded to hold 
my peace, and I was glad I did so when, on going around the pond 
we stumbled on the deer lying dead, with a bullet through the ribs 
from side to side, and another bullet hole in the left flank, ranging 
forward and lodging against the shoulder. This must have been 
from my last shot, for from the course my game had run I could 
not have struck it in the left side with any of the previous ones. 

It was a fair-sized buck, but in my excitement I could have 
carried it to the river bank without assistance. I suppose we 
should have dressed it on the spot, but our ideas of the operation 
were vague, and so we carried it as it was and tumbled it down on 

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IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

the sand bar beside our boat just as the Palace "hove in sight" 
around the bend above. We had killed our first deer, and felt 
reasonably proud of our achievement, though Bud persisted in 
speaking of "that little ol' deer you'uns happened ter hit," just 
as though the killing was an accident and the game itself so small 
as to be beneath the notice of a true sportsman. 

It would be useless to relate all the incidents of the next few 
days. Before the week was out, Allan and I had each two deer to 
our credit. We might have made a better score, perhaps, but for 
one circumstance that weighed heavily against us. In driving his 
bargain with Bud, before my arrival, Allan had foolishly allowed 
our guide the privilege of setting and attending to a few traps as 
a means of increasing his earnings, and we more than suspicioned 
that, in selecting our stopping places. Bud was guided more by the 
amount of "coon sign" visible than by the probability of big game 
being found in the neighborhood. More than once I consulted 
Allan as to the practicability of making a new trade with the 
"lights and privileges" left out, but we both shrank from broaching 
the subject to the "party of the second part." Bud was a trapper, 
dyed in the wool, and if we had hinted at hanging up his traps for 
the season, he would certainly have thrown up his important posi- 
tion on board the Palace, and mapped out a campaign in which we 
would have had no part. 

About three days was the limit of our stay in any one place, just 
time enough to get practically acquainted with the lay of the sur- 
rounding country. In one place — it was where the cut-off from 
Seven Mile lake entered the river — our halt was extended to a 
week, for game and fur both were abundant. At this point I 
killed four turkeys out of a flock of twenty or thirty, and Allan shot 
three deer, only one of which he secured. 

We passed Des Arc and Devall's Bluff, two towns of considerable 
local importance. At the place last mentioned, we lay over a 
couple of days while awaiting provisions from Little Rock; but our 
time was not lost, for some of the planters in the neighborhood 
invited us out to their farms for quail shooting, giving Pat a 
chance to show the sort of work of which he was capable. We 

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IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 

found the birds extremely plentiful, and so tame that they would 
hardly flush until fairly kicked out of the grass. The only draw- 
back, that could be called such, was the extreme rankness of vege- 
tation, which rendered it difficult at times to keep our dog in sight; 
but Pat worked tirelessly, winning the good opinion of all. 

Our last week was spent at a point which possessed sufficient 
attraction to the over-particular Bud to make him concur in our 
desire to linger. There were more deer here than at any place 
previously visited, but we spent very little time in their pursuit. 
On the day of our arrival, Allan discovered a pool a mile or so 
from the river, where a bear family had been watering, and we 
thought our days would be best employed in watching for their 
return. Winter was rapidly approaching, and the beginning of the 
rainy season might be expected any hour. Therefore, if we wished 
to try our hand at what Bud called "water-hole shootin' " we must 
lose no time. Our opportunity might vanish at any minute. 

As the food supply was very scarce in all parts of the cane re- 
gion, it is possible that the bears were ranging a wider scope than 
is usually the case. Bud assured us that "b'ar alius drink out'n 
ther same hole," but if these did it must certainly have been "a 
long time between drinks" in their case. Every hour for three 
days and nights we kept that little pool under our watchful eyes, 
but nothing materialized. We had made us a snug blind behind an 
old log, occupied by both of us at night, while we watched by turns 
during the day, and if even a squirrel had ventured down to quench 
its thirst it could not have escaped our notice. 

The morning of the fourth day we spent in our cots on board the 
Palace. After dinner we smoked our pipes and read some week- 
old Memphis dailies until the sun marked the hour for our after- 
noon's hunt; and then, for the first time during our trip down the 
river, all three of us started together, Allan with his Winchester, 
and Bud carrying his 32-caliber Marlin, while I brought up the 
rear, bearing the Greener with an ample load of buckshot in either 
barrel. 

This world is full of coincidences, and the unexpected encounters 
lis at every turn. About the time we stepped from the door of our 

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IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 

floating camp, an old she bear and three half-grown cubs scrambled 
from their lair, and took a course that brought them to their old- 
time drinking pool, just as we reached it. Perhaps our surprise 
at the meeting was greater than their own. At all events, before 
we had had time to collect our thoughts, Mrs. Bruin was leading 
her interesting family in full retreat toward the nearest brake. 

"Shoot," yelled Bud; and the spiteful report of his little rifle 
was followed by the fall of the nearest cub. Instantly I threw my 
gun forward, and both triggers were pressed almost simultane- 
ously, but I had only a stern shot, and the No. 8 buck lacked pene- 
tration for this sort of work. By a rare piece of carelessness on 
his part, Allan's rifle was unloaded, and before he could throw a 
cartridge into the chamber, the old she bear had disappeared in 
the cane, dragging one hind-leg that had been broken by my shot. 
The cubs were slower, and another fell at the reports of the two 
rifles; but, only wounded, it struggled on, and two more shots 
were required to finish it. 

Allan and I, if we had been alone, would have undoubtedly lost 
the wounded bear and the remaining cub, but Bud had been in 
many a bear hunt, and knew exactly how to proceed. 

"Run around the p'int of ther ridge," said he, "they'll ha'ter 
cross ther slew, an' you kin head 'em off. Go ahead an' I'll foller 
'em up." 

He plunged into the cane, while we dashed away in compliance 
with his instructions. A run of two hundred yards brought us 
into the slough just as the remaining cub attempted to cross; but 
a shot and a yell turned him back, and we could see blood on the 
cane leaves where he had entered the brake. 

Both of the bears were now wounded, and we had them between 
two fires. Of course it would be possible for them to attempt to 
escape along the narrow ridge, but a bear makes considerable noise 
in breaking its way through tangled cane, and by carefully listening 
we would be able to discover the direction they were going and 
cut them off. 

Minutes passed, however, before any noise disturbed the oppres- 
sive silence, save the wheezing escape of a steamboat ascending 

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IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

the river, miles away, and the honk, honk, of a flock of geese hurry- 
ing southward. Suddenly we heard Bud's rifle again, and then his 
loud, deep-chested yell: 

"Look out, fellers! I've done shot off tew more of her legs, but 
she's comin' on ther stumps." 

Something was coming. We could hear it tearing through the 
cane like an incipient cyclone. 

"Stand fast Craig-Royal and we'll weather it," quoted Allan under 
his breath; and then three shots were fired as fast as fingers 
could press the triggers; the cub fairly rolled out of the cane, his 
hide riddled with bullet and shot, while the old bear, open mouthed, 
dashed by so close that she struck the barrel of my gun, broken 
down for the reception of more cartridges. 

How I wished for a repeater! It takes time to reload a shotgun, 
and instants seem like hours at such a time as this. 

Bang! 

A 45-caliber bullet struck Bruin in the shoulder, but a trifle too 
far forward to break the bone. The blow checked her for an instant 
and she turned half around facing us — and just in time to catch 
three ounces of buckshot in her breast. That was a "finisher." At 
such short range no rifle can equal in life-destroying power a heavily 
loaded shotgun. 

Thus ended our bear hunt and our last day after big game of any 
description. That night the wind blew sharply from the north- 
east, a fall of snow and sleet followed. 

With the storm came the ducks and geese, and, if we had liked, 
we could have loaded our boat with wild fowl. On the second day 
the cold moderated and the sleet changed to rain, but still the migra- 
tion of ducks continued. Flying overhead and swimming with the 
current they passed us by thousands; unmolested, too, save by an 
occasional shot from one of the rifles, fired in a vain hope of equaling 
the feats credited to Leatherstockings and Dan Boones of fiction. 

Three days before the date set for the end of our hunt, a steam- 
boat passed, with Newport its objective point, and we decided to 
grasp that opportunity for our return. Fifteen minutes sufficed to 
pack our small belongings; a small army of ebony-hued roustabouts 

—83- 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

stood ready to hoist out trunks and boxes on board the larger craft; 
and then the engineer's bell rang, the big stern wheel revolved, and 
we began slowly forcing our way against the swollen current of 
White river, leaving the Palace to peacefully float at her moorings, 
once more, by our free gift, the property of that most inveterate 
of trappers. Bud. 







—84- 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



The Open Seasons for Game* 

ARKANSAS. 

Quail. — October 1 to March 1. 

Pinnated Grouse, Prairie Chicken. — September 1 to February 1. 

Wild Turkey. — September 1 to May 1. 

Deer.— August 1 to February I. 

License. — $10.00 for each County. 

LOUISIANA. 

Quail.— September I to April 1. 
Wild Duck. — September 1 to April 1. 
Ruffed Grouse. — September 1 to April 1. 
Wild Turkey. — September 1 to April 1. 
Deer. — September 1 to April 1. 

MISSOURI. 

Quail. — November 1 to January 1. 

Woodcock. — August 1 to January 1. 

Wild Duck. — October 1 to April 1. 

Pinnated Grouse, Prairie Chicken. — November 1 to January 1. 

Ruffed Grouse. — November 1 to January 1. 

Wild Turkey. —November 1 to January 1. 

Snipe. — August 1 to January 1. 

Deer.— October 1 to January 1. 

Non-residents not permitted. 

TEXAS. 
Quail.— October 1 to March 15. 

Pinnated Grouse, Prairie Chicken.— August 1 to February 1. 
Ruffed Grouse.— October 1 to March 15. 
Wild Turkey.— September 1 to April 1. 
Deek.— September 1 to January 1. 

—85- 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



National Game Laiv* 

1 

The following enactment by Congress will be of vital interest to 
sportsmen, and should be carefully perused: 

An Act to enlarge the powers of the Department of 
Agriculture, to prohibit the transportation by interstate 
commerce of game killed in violation of local laws, 
and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the duties 
and powers of the Department of Agriculture are hereby enlarged 
so as to include the preservation, distribution, introduction, and 
restoration of game birds and other wild birds. The Secretary of 
Agriculture is hereby authorized to adopt such measures as may be 
necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act and to purchase 
such game birds and other wild birds as may be required therefor, 
subject, however, to the laws of the various States and Territories. 
The object and purpose of this Act is to aid in the restoration of 
such birds in those parts of the United States adapted thereto where 
the same have become scarce or extinct, and also to regulate the 
introduction of American or foreign birds or animals in localities 
where they have not heretofore existed. 

The Secretary of Agriculture shall from time to time collect and 
publish useful information as to the propagation, uses, and preserva- 
tion of such birds. 

And the Secretary of Agriculture shall make and publish all need- 
ful rules and regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Act, 
and shall expend for said purposes such sums as Congress may ap- 
propriate therefor. 

Sec. 2. That it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to im- 
port into the United States any foreign wild animal or bird except 
under special permit from the United States Department of Agri- 

—86- 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

culture: Provided, That nothing in this section shall restrict the 
importation of natural history specimens for museums or scientific 
collections, or the importation of certain cage birds, such as domes- 
ticated canaries, parrots, or such other species as the Secretary of 
Agriculture may designate. 

The importation of the mongoose, the so-oalled "flying-foxes" or 
fruit hats, the English sparrow, the starling, or such other birds or 
animals as the Secretary of Agriculture may from time to time de- 
clare injurious to the interests of agriculture or horticulture is 
hereby prohibited, and such species upon arrival at any of the ports 
of the United States shall be destroyed, or returned at the expense 
of the owner. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized 
to make regulations for carrying into effect the provisions of this 
section. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to 
deliver to any common carrier, or for any common carrier to trans- 
port from one State or Territory to another State or Territory, or 
from the District of Columbia or Alaska to any State or Territory, 
or from any State or Territory to the District of Columbia or Alaska, 
any foreign animals or birds, the importation of which is prohi- 
bited, or the dead bodies or parts thereof of any wild animals or 
birds, where such animals or birds have been killed in violation of 
the laws of the State, Territory, or District in which the same were 
killed: Provided, That nothing herein shall prevent the transporta- 
tion of any dead birds or animals killed during the season when the 
same may be lawfully captured, and the export of which is not 
prohibited by law in the State, Territory, or District in which the 
same are killed. 

Sec. 4. That all packages containing such dead animals, birds, or 
parts thereof, when shipped by interstate commerce, as provided in 
section one of this Act, shall be plainly and clearly marked, so that 
the name and address of the shipper and the nature of the contents 
may be readily ascertained on inspection of the outside of such 
packages. For each evasion or violation of this Act the shipper 
shall, upon conviction, pay a fine of not exceeding two hundred 
dollars; and the consignee knowingly receiving such articles so 
shipped and transported in violation of this Act shall, upon con- 

—87- 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

viction, pay a fine of not exceeding two hundred dollars; and the 
carrier knowingly carrying or transporting the same shall, upon 
conviction, pay a fine of not exceeding two hundred dollars. 

Sec. 5. That all dead bodies, or parts thereof, of any foriegn game 
animals, or game or song birds, the importation of which is pro- 
hibited, or the dead bodies, or parts thereof, of any wild game ani- 
mals, or game or song birds transported into any State or Territory, 
or remaining therein for use, consumption, sale or storage therein, 
shall upon 'arrival in such State or Territory be subject to the opera- 
tion and effect of the laws of such State or Territory enacted in the 
exercise of its police powers, to the same extent and in the same 
manner as though such animals or birds had been produced in such 
State or Territory, and shall not be exempt therefrom by reason of 
being introduced therein in original packages or otherwise. This 
Act shall not prevent the importation, transportation, or sale of 
birds or bird plumage manufactured from the feathers of barnyard 
fowl. 

Approved, May 25, 1900. 




IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



The Wonderful Chicot Lake Country. 

From tlie St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 

DOWN in Southeastern Arkansas the lovers of good shooting 
and fishing, wild and weird scenery, such as can be found 
in no other part of the State — or the country, for that mat- 
ter—are directed to Chicot, Lincoln and Desha Counties. The Ar- 
kansas branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad penetrates this wild 
territory, with its fine lakes, bayous, creeks and rivers, wonderful 
pine forests, cane thickets and dark cypress swamps. The deer, 
hear, wild turkey, wolf, panther, squirrel and myriads of wild fowl 
find places that are suited to their ideas of free life, where everybody 
that has a gun will not venture as deep as their haunts into the 
trackless forests and great water spreads. 

The fishing is surely the finest of its kind in the whole country. 
Both large and small mouth black bass are found in the waters of 
the southeastern wilderness. Lake Chicot is perhaps the greatest 
body of water to be found in the South for grand fishing and duck 
shooting. The waters are as clear as crystal and of great depths. 
The crappie of Lake Chicot are the finest in the world. George R. 
Mann, the well-known architect, was fishing down there last Novem- 
ber, after the fly-casting season was over. Where a giant pine had 
tumbled into the water and sunk to the depths of 50 feet, Mr. Mann 
let down his line, baited with little sunfish, and to his astonishment 
began pulling out crappie that averaged nearly three pounds each. 
In one hour's fishing he had more fish than he could carry, and 
pulled off toward the club house, letting out his long trolling line. 
In one mile's rowing he took nine bass, running from four to nine 
pounds. That ended his fishing for that trip. The ducks came 
along toward night, and then his soul was full of glory. He is a 
duck shooter who knows how to drop the broadbills all the way 
up to 75 and 80 yards. He killed fifty ducks in the evening's shoot, 

—89— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

in Ohicot and other waters. There are many points in the lake 
where the water is 150 feet deep. 

and concluded that the rest of his time he would put in exploring 
the surroundings. He ran into deer and all other game in such 
numbers that he came to the conclusion that there must be a game 
convention in session in the glorious old pine forest. 

The following letter from J. M. Parker to Mr. H. C. Townsend, 
general passenger agent of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, 
will give the reader briefly the conditions that prevail at Arkansas' 
grandest fishing lake. Although Mr. Parker omits to mention the 
shooting in the neighborhood, he tells the sportsmen who may desire 
to get out in the great fishing and game country some interesting 
facts. The name of the club at Lake Chicot is the Idlewild Hunting 
and Fishing Club. The members are mostly from the South, but 
they do not exclude good sportsmen, who come well recommended, 
from the privilege of their cozy and complete club house. It is 
presumed from the tone of Mr. Parker's letter that letters of in- 
quiry should be addressed to him at Hamburg, Ashley County, Ark. 
Here is the letter: 

"Dear Sir — We have a very nice club house over on Lake Chicot, 
and Mr. Wheless spoke to me about the message which you sent 
him in regard to fishing on the lake. I should be more than pleased 
to have you, or any of your friends whom you would like to send 
down, come to our club. I should take pleasure in showing you 
everything we have, and can assure you that the fishing is as fine 
as there is in the country, striped bass, black bass and trout. They 
are all striking at flies and trolls, and some phenomenal catches 
have been made. The lake is about twenty-five miles long, and a 
mile wide. We have a very nice club house, capable of taking care 
of about thirty people, and have as good a kitchen and dining room 
service as they have in any of the hotels in the South, and good 
accommodations for rooms, and plenty of boats, and can take care of 
any party that comes down, giving them all the comforts of a club, 
together with as fine fishing as there is in the country. Gov. Jones 
and party spent a week with us and were very highly pleased. 

J. M. Parker, President." 

Where Mr. Barker speaks of "trout," he refers to the small-mouth 
black bass, as it is called trout in the South. There are also pickerel 

—90— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

There are some monster catfish down in the depths that afford 
great sport for hand or trot line fishermen. A party of them from 
Arkansas City took a wagon load of channel and gudgeon cats in one 
night. They would rather have that kind of fish than black bass 
or giant crappie any time. They had a great night's sport on Chicot, 
winding up with a coon hunt that netted twenty-seven pelts. There 
are also beavers and otters in Chicot and adjoining county. 

Old "Pap" Martin was out with a party of gentlemen for a day 
in the early season, and they gathered 260 pounds of bass and crap- 
pie. "Pap" Martin is a great old sportsman, who can catch more 
bass with buck tail bobs than any man in Arkansas. He is a famous 
old hunter also, having to his credit over 1,000 deer and 200 bears. 
He hunts around Chicot, Lincoln, Desha and Ashley counties, and 
does most of his fishing in Chicot Lake. 

The whole country for miles up and down the Mississippi, through 
the southeastern tier of counties, you will find as pleasant places to 
visit as you ever wished for. Combination of good fishing, wild 
scenery and here and there a hunter's cabin to cheer you up, and 
game such a^s you hunters are not used to, can always be found in 
such quantities as good sportsmen enjoy seeing, even if they don't 
want to kill it. In the forests may be found deer, quail, wild turkeys 
and squirrels, in abundance. 

At Idlewild Station a large and commodious club house has been 
erected, known as the "Idlewild Club." This beautiful structure is 
located on a high bank, overlooking the clear and placid Lake 
Chicot, after which this route has been named. This lake is a 
mile wide, twenty-five miles long and from five to fifty feet deep. 
In it are found black and striped bass, and all the game fish to be 
found in any waters of its kind in the United States. It is equal, 
for sport, to any of the lakes found in the far North. Here is the 
finest fiy and troll fishing in the South. Three parties, in boats, in 
one afternoon, caught eight hundred black and striped bass with 
hook and line. 

Thus writes J. M. Parker, general manager of the Mississippi 
River, Hamburg & Western Railway, which connects with the Iron 
Mountain and Southern at Montrose on the Arkansas City Branch 
from Little Rock. 

—91— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND PISHING GROUNDS. 



Sport in Desha County* 

THE following experience of two sportsmen down in Desha 
County, as related in the Gloie-Democrat of St. Louis, will 
be interesting reading to all who love to hunt and fish: 
"Talk about a stag party," says a hunter, who has just got back 
from Desha County, Ark., having spent two weeks in that wild and 
woolly country around Dead Lakes; "well, I ran right into one the 
second day I was down in Desha County. It was early in the morn- 
ing that I was trailing down a bayou through a moderate growth of 
cane. I heard a noise back in an opening, where only switch cane 
grew. Then I heard a buck bleat angrily, then a thrashing about 
in the cane. Cautiously I crept through the thicket and peered out 
into the opening. The sight that dawned upon me was really start- 
ling in its realism. Standing at the edge of a thicket were two 
lordly bucks with heads erect, intently watching a morning duel be- 
tween two other equally fine specimens of the male deer. Their 
horns were locked, and both the bucks were on their knees. With 
gun in readiness for a quick shot I watched the battle royal almost 
breathlessly for a few moments. The struggle was the most fierce 
I ever witnessed of any kind. It was at times thrilling and majestic 
to behold. It seemed as if the brutes were inseparably locked in 
the death struggle, so I leveled my old 10-bore, shelled with 4 drams 
of nitro-powder and 12 buckshot, at the heads of the fighting mon- 
archs of Dead Lake. When the old piece bellowed and belched its 
deadly charge the seconds of the duelists leaped into the air and 
were lost in the tall cane like a fiash. But those old fighters never 
broke apart, but fell prone upon the carpet of switch cane, with 
protuding tongues, both of them being shot through the heads and 
necks and very soon were ready for the knife. When I was cutting 
tlie deers' throats I heard two gunshots in rapid succession in the 
direction the two bucks had vanished. My partner, John Hornsly, 
of Little Rock, was down the bayou in line with the flying bucks. 
We were to meet about opposite the place I killed my two bucks. 

—92— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

I could do nothing until we joined hands, so I sauntered down in the 
direction from which the reports of the gun came. Hornaly saw me 
coming and yelled like an Indian to me to hurry to his aid, saying 
he had two bucks downed. I helped him hang the game up, but 
never said a word about my double-header shot until I walked him 
up to their dead bodies. We were both so surprised by the results 
of the morning we could hardly express ourselves. Hornsly looked 
as if he would faint when he saw my old bucks stretched out; but 
the spasm did not last long. He broke out into Indian whoops that 
echoed through the dark old forest and rolled far over Dead Lakes, 
and died away along the Father of Waters. Hornsly stood guard 
over my fallen foemen until I could go back to camp, where our 
guide was to arrive that morning with his team. He was the most 
surprised man that ever crossed White River when he learned we 
had killed a whole flock of deer. 

"We concluded that deer were too easy for us; besides, we had 
more than our allowance of venison. After starting the guide into 
Winchester with three of the bucks to be shipped to friends of 
Hornsly in Little Rock, who were to have them dressed and divided, 
sending one saddle, carefully marked, to Chief of Police Campbell, of 
St. Louis, we turned our attention to ducks and the securing of live 
bait for fishing in Noble and Swan Lakes. One of the deer we re- 
tained for meat at camp. I ate so much venison I can feel horns 
sprouting. The two bucks with the locked horns were not separated, 
but shipped as they fell. 

"Fishing in Swan Lake was excellent. We had to use little sun- 
fish for bait, but the bass and pickerel took to that kind of bait as 
well as any we cared to offer. Hornsly caught some of the greatest 
crappie I ever saw, and what do you think he caught them with? 
Nothing but the eyes of big skip-jacks that we caught in seining 
for bait. I caught a 12-pound pickerel on a 6-inch skip. We caught 
lots of line pickerel, which our guide salted and packed for home 
use. His style of pickling was new to me, but I must say the fish 
basted all right after two weeks in the brine. There were plenty of 
ducks, squirrels and all kinds of game in Desha, and now it is getting 
to be just the time to fish and hunt down in the wilds of Dead Lake 
country. I don't expect anybody will run into a stag party like we 
did, but they will get some fine sport." 

—93— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 



On Little River's Spreads* 

Two sportsmen relate their experience after duclis in the Little 
River country : "We heard some wild stories about the bad 
men that hunted the mallards for a livelihood in the Little 
River everglades, but we threw ourselves upon their hospitality and 
were treated with every courtesy possible by those hardy denizens 
of the Southeast wilderness. 

"We landed at Buffington, on Iron Mountain, and had a cabin-boat 
built, and just cut loose and floated down to Dad's. That's all I 
knew about the old trapper except that he is a good and faithful 
old guide. His cabin in the woods is a picture typical of his calling. 
The hut of the 'Arkansas Traveler' could not be more picturesque. 
Dad's cabin was decorated with skins of all the fur animals that are 
found in the Little River country. I lost out on pictures that I had 
hoped to make. I discovered there was but two exposures left in my 
camera when 1 got down to work. It is a great disappointment, for 
there was so much of character and scenery that was worth a place 
in the collection of hunting and fishing pictures. 

"The way the natives hunt ducks is very interesting to one who 
gets his first introduction to their methods. They have live decoys, 
that are trained as well as Sport's Gath. Dad was pulling down the 
channel one day, when four mallards came skimming the surface of 
the stream, and I threw up my gun to take a crack at them. 

" 'Hold on. Mister, don't shoot them birds,' said Dad. 'They be 
John Short's decoys. He do have sum uv the best in the woods.' 

"I could hardly believe it possible until the four drakes settled 
down among the ducks that Short had anchored only 30 feet from 
us. The females had a ring around their necks, to which was at- 
tached a string and a weight, that was anchored on the bottom. The 
drakes were left to fly at will, and many a big flock of mallards were 
lured in by these birds. 

"I was wondering how the hunter could get the drakes when he 
quit for the night, but he demonstrated very quickly. The ducks 

—94— 



IDEAL HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS. 

were lifted into the boat, and then the paddle was raised in a threat- 
ening manner, and the old male birds climbed over the gunwale 
of the duck boat and squatted down, heads to the bow, where they 
remained until Short reached camp. Where these market hunters 
get the live decoys I did not learn, but nearly all of them have the 
sure enough live mallards. 

"How these men can stand the hardships and privations of con- 
tinuous existence down in the wilds of Little River country is a mys- 
tery to me. They seemed to be as hardy as a stall-fed athlete of the 
town. There is no great remuneration in killing ducks for the 
market, on account of losses in shipping the game. But one of the 
hunters told me there is a fascination about hunting and trapping 
that holds a man who once gets into the business against all induce- 
ments to better his condition. 

"I want to say that there is no place in this country where the 
duck hunter can get right into the haunts of the wild fowl com- 
parable to the spreads of Little River, and where Mr. McKinley and 
myself spent three of the most enjoyable weeks that could be asked 
for by a sportsman. There are deer, wild turkeys, squirrels, ducks 
of all kinds, and a world of furred animals down yon'. I am told 
the ducks stay all winter unless the weather happens to be exceed- 
ingly severe." 




—95- 



I RON 
M OaWTAlN 
RGOTE 

5 MILT TR/1IN5 K 



Hrhansas 



and 



I.oui6iaiia 



equipped 
With 



Pullman Buffet Sleeping Cars, Reclining 

Chair Cars (seats free of extra charge) 

and Elegant Day Coaches. 

Cbrougb Service to 

MEMPHIS, SAN ANTONIO, 

LITTLE ROCK, DALLAS, 

HOUSTON, FORT WORTH, 

GALVESTON, ^, p , ^^ 

AUSTIN, rnrA.ST7TT7<: 

LAREDO (where Direct ^^b ANGhLUb, 
Connection is made for and ♦ . . 

the CITY OF MEXICO.) SAN FRANCISCO. 



VALUABLE ASSISTANCE. 

♦ ■ 

The following Traveling and Passenger Agents of the MISSOURI PACIFIC RAIL- 
WAY and IRON MOUNTAIN ROUTE ase constantly looking after the interest* of the 
Line, and will call upon parties contemplating a trip and cheerfully furnish them 
lowest Rates of Fare, Land Pamphlets, Maps, Guides, Time Tables, etc. 
Or they may be addressed as follows : 

ATCHISON. KAN.— C. E. STYLES Passenger and Ticket Agent. 

AUSTIN, TEX.— J. C. Lewis Traveling Passenger Agent. 

BOSTON. MASS.— Louis W. Ewald New England Pass'r Agent, 192*Washington St. 

CAIRO, ILL.— C. G. Miller City Ticket Agent. 309 Ohio Levee. 

' I. P. Spinner Ticket Agent. Union Depot 

CHATTANOOGA. TENN.— I. E. Rkhlander Traveling Pass'r Agent, 16 East 8th St. 

CHICAGO, ILL.— BissELL Wilson District Passenger Agent, 111 Adams St. 

CINCINNATI, OHIO— A. A. G*llagher, District Pass'r Agt., 408 Vine St, bet. Fourth, 
and Fifth Sts. 
T. A. Wilkinson, Trav. Pass'r and Land Agt., 408 Vine St., bet. 
Fourth and Fifth Streets. 
DENVER, COLO.— C. A. TRiPP..Gen'l Western Frt. and Pass'r Agt., cor. 17th & Stout Sts. 

E. E. Hoffman Traveling Passenger Agent. 

DETROIT, MICH.— H. D. Armstrong Traveling Pass'r Agt., 32 Campus Martius. 

FT. SCOTT, KAN.— I. R. Sherwin Passenger and Ticket Ageut. 

HOT SPRINGS, ARK.— J. S. Reamey Ticket Agent. 

INDIANAPOLIS, IND.— G. A. A. Deane, Jr Traveling Pass'r Agent, Boom 16 Clay- 

poole Building, cor. Washington and Illinois Sts. 

KANSAS CITY, MO.— E. S. Jewett Passenger and Ticket Agent, 901 Main St. 

J.H. Lyon Western Passenger Ageut, 901 Main St. 

J. F. Etter Passenger and Assistant Ticket Agt., 901 Main St. 

P. C. lA'ON Traveling Passenger Agent. 

Tom Hughes City Passenger Agent, Union Depot. 

LEAVENWORTH, KAN.— J. N. Joerger Passenger and Ticket Agent. 

LINCOLN, NEB.— F. D.Cornell Passenger and Ticket Agent, 1039 O St. and Depot. 

LITTLE ROCK, ARK.— J. A. Hollinger Passenger and Ticket Agent. 

LOUISVILLE, KY.— R. T. G. Matthews Traveling Passenger Agent. 304 West Main St. 

MEMPHIS, TENN.— H. D. Wilson Pass'r and Ticket Agt., 314 Main St., (cor. Monroe). 

Ellis Farnsworth, Trav. Pass'r Ageut, 314 Main St., (cor. Monroe). 

MEXICO CITY, MEX.— H. C. DiNKiNS General Agent, Hotel Coliseo. 

NEW YORK CITY— W. E. Hoyt General Eastern Passenger Agent, 391 Broadway. 

J. P. McCann Traveling Passenger Agent, 391 Broadway. 

OMAHA, NEB.— Thos. F. GoDFREY..Pass'r and Tkt. Agt., S. E. cor. 14th and Douglas Sts. 

W. C. Barnes Trav. Pass'r Agent, S. E. cor. 14th and Douglas Sts. 

J. K. Chambers Ticket Agent, Union Passenger Station. 

PITTSBURG, PA.— John R. James Central Pass'r Agt., Room 905 Park Building, 

Fifth Ave, and Smithfield Street. 

PUEBLO, COLO.— Wm. Hogg Passenger and Ticket Agent. 

ST. JOSEPH, MO.— Benton Quick... Passenger and Ticket Agent, S. E.cor.6th&Edmond. 

ST. LOUIS, MO — B. H. Payne Assistant General Passenger and Ticket Agent. 

H. F. BERKLEY...Pass'r&Tkt. Agent, N.W. cor. Broadway and Olive St. 
M. Griffin ...City Passenger Agent, N.W. cor. Broadway andOliveSt. 

W. H. Morton Passenger Agent, Room 402, Union Station. 

A. V. Brigham Traveling Passenger Agent for Arkansas. 

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH— H. B. Kooser Com. Freight & Pa.s.senger Agt. , 

Nos. 105 and 107 West Second St. (South). 

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.— L. M. Fletcher Pacific Coast Agent, 212 California St. 

E. J. Waugh Trav. Pass'r Agent, 212 California St. 

SEDALIA, MO.— J. W. McClain Passenger and Ticket Agent. 

TEXARKANA, ARK.— P. E. Baer Ticket Agent. 

WICHITA, KAN.— E. E. Bleckley Passenger and Ticket Agent, 114 N. Main St. 

C.G.WARNER, RUSSELL HARDING. 

2d Vice-President, 3d Vice-Pres't and Gen'l Manager. 

H. C.TOWNSEND, 

General Passenger and Ticket Agent, 

St. Louis, Mo. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




I 

MOUN i^^ 

Route, 



002 890 572 5 J 



.rre. GREAT SOUTHWEST SYSTEM. 

CONNECTING THE COMMERCIAL CENTRES AND RICH FARMS OF 

MISSOURI. 

THE BROAD CORN AND WHEAT FIELDS AND THRIVING TOWNS OF 

KKNSKS, 

THE FERTILE RIVER VALLEYS AND TRADE CENTRES OF 

NEBRHSKK, 

THE GRAND. PICTURESQUE AND ENCHANTING SCENERY. AND 
THE FAMOUS MINING DISTRICTS OF 

COLORHDO, 

THE AGRICULTURAL. FRXnT. MINERAL AND TIMBER LANDS. AND 
FAMOUS HOT SPRINGS OF 

HRKHNSHS, 

THE BEAUTIFUL ROLLING PRAIRIES AND WOODLANDS OF THB 

INDIHN TERRITORY, 

THE SUGAR. COTTON AND TIMBER PLANTATIONS OF 

LOUISIHNH, 

THE COTTON AND GRAIN FIELDS. THB CATTLE RANGES AND 
WINTER RESORTS OF 

TEXHS, 

HISTORICAL AND SCENIC 

OLD HND NEM MEXICO. 

AND FORMS WITH ITS CONNECTIONS THE POPULAR ROUTE TO 

HRIZONH HND CHLIFORNIM. 



